asteroid

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Chunk of Asteroid That Could Take Chunk Out of Earth Nears

OSIRIS-REx's sample from near-Earth asteroid Bennu to arrive in Utah on Sunday

(Newser) - There's a 1 in 2,700 chance that an asteroid known for its close flybys of Earth could smack into the planet in the next 160 years or so, which isn't very reassuring. NASA hopes, however, that the upcoming conclusion of a seven-year mission to retrieve samples from...

You Might Be Able to Glimpse This Asteroid

It's zipping by us, and even amateurs might spot 2023 DZ2 Friday night or Saturday

(Newser) - An asteroid big enough to wipe out a city will zip between Earth and the moon's orbit on Saturday, reports the AP . The close encounter will offer astronomers the chance to study a space rock from just over 100,000 miles away—that’s less than half the distance...

Asteroid Has a Small Chance of Hitting Earth on Feb. 14, 2046

NASA says DB 2023 isn't 'particularly concerning'

(Newser) - There's a very small but real chance that a space rock could ruin a lot of romantic evenings 23 years from now, according to NASA's Planetary Defense Office. The newly discovered asteroid, DB 2023, has a 1 in 560 chance of hitting Earth on Valentine's Day 2046,...

Close Encounter With Earth Changes Asteroid's Orbit

2023 BU came 'extraordinarily close' to our planet

(Newser) - The asteroid 2023 BU came very close to Earth Thursday evening, coming 10 times closer than many satellites. At its closest, at 7:27pm Eastern, it was 2,200 miles over the southern tip of South America, which "counts as a close shave," the BBC reports. But even...

Possible 'Planet Killer' Asteroid Found in Earth's Orbital Path

Future generations will want to keep an eye on it

(Newser) - Astronomers have discovered a new asteroid in our neighborhood: it's more than a mile wide, and its orbit around the sun crosses the Earth’s path, making it a potential "planet killer," according to a New York Times report on the rock known as 2022 APY. Not...

Here's Visual Proof That Our Asteroid Slam Worked

DART's collision with Dimorphos asteroid confirmed by 6.2K-mile-long debris trail

(Newser) - Astronomers know for certain that NASA's DART spacecraft slammed into a distant asteroid in a test of whether Earth-threatening space rocks might be diverted, because that asteroid is spewing a whole lot of rock and dust. Two days after the Sept. 26 Double Asteroid Redirection Test, a telescope in...

NASA Craft Zeroing In on Unsuspecting Asteroid
Asteroid-Slamming Mission
Is a Hit for NASA
updated
Sep 26, 2022 6:57 PM CDT

Asteroid-Slamming Mission Is a Hit for NASA

Stakes of the test are high, NASA administrator says

(Newser) - Update: The NASA spacecraft DART intentionally slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos at 14,000mph on Monday. It could be weeks, however, before NASA knows how much the impact changed the path of the asteroid, the AP reports. Telescopes on Earth and in space were pointed at the spot in anticipation;...

How to Watch Monday's Collision With Asteroid

NASA will be live-streaming the deliberate smash in the evening

(Newser) - It's not every day you get to watch a spacecraft smash into an asteroid , but Monday just happens to be one. In fact, the impact is expected to occur at precisely 7:14pm Eastern, and it will be streamed at NASA Live . Outlets including Space.com and CNET also...

Dino-Killing Asteroid May Have Had a Friend
Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid
May Have Had a Friend
NEW STUDY
Aug 18, 2022 7:30 PM CDT

Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid May Have Had a Friend

Fossils suggest 5-mile-wide crater off West Africa is also 66M years old

(Newser) - The 6-mile-wide asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago may have had a baby cousin that struck on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean. Dr. Uisdean Nicholson of Scotland's Heriot-Watt University discovered a hidden depression of a similar age as the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico...

This Week Brings Biggest Asteroid Flyby of the Year

Those with telescopes may be able to see 7335

(Newser) - Sky watchers of the professional and amateur varieties are keeping an eye on the heavens this week to spot a giant asteroid zipping by. The rock dubbed 7335 (1989 JA) will be closest to Earth on Friday, reports Live Science . This one just happens to be the largest asteroid expected...

NASA: Fireball Over South Was 10 Times Brighter Than Moon

Chunk of asteroid exploded over Louisiana

(Newser) - NASA has confirmed that a fireball seen over three Southern states this week was a piece of an asteroid around a foot across that exploded 34 miles above a swampy area in Louisiana. The agency says around 30 people in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana reported sightings. The meteor, which weighed...

Scientist: This Dinosaur Died on the Day of Asteroid Strike

Leg was among many finds at North Dakota site that preserved the 'death blow'

(Newser) - The asteroid that hit the Earth around 66 million years ago brought an abrupt end to the Cretaceous period—and to the life of a Thescelosaurus dinosaur whose incredibly well-preserved leg was found at a North Dakota site. Researchers say they can pinpoint the day of the dinosaur's death...

He Discovered an Asteroid&mdash;Then Its Earth-Bound Path
He Discovered an
Asteroid—Then Its
Earth-Bound Path
in case you missed it
Mar 20, 2022 4:40 PM CDT

He Discovered an Asteroid—Then Its Earth-Bound Path

It soon after struck Earth's atmosphere over Norwegian sea, as NASA system predicted

(Newser) - An asteroid was spotted for the first time Friday only about two hours before it entered into Earth's atmosphere. NASA's early warning system that detects near-Earth objects was put to the test after astronomer Krisztián Sarneczky at the Piszkésteto Observatory in northern Hungary notified the Minor...

The Quest for Fair Skin Leads to 'Serious Adverse Effects'

In India, topical steroid creams that lighten skin cause painful side effects

(Newser) - Since 2018, you shouldn't be able to buy a "fairness cream" over the counter in India. That was the year the government required that 14 topical steroid creams be made available only with a doctor's prescription. And yet CNN was recently able to purchase four types of...

Hey Dimorphos, NASA Is Coming for You
NASA Rocket
Is Now On
Its Way to
Dimorphos
UPDATED
Nov 24, 2021 6:32 AM CST

NASA Rocket Is Now On Its Way to Dimorphos

Spacecraft has launched on mission to slam into asteroid, knock it off course

(Newser) - Update: NASA's experiment to have a spacecraft smash into an asteroid is underway, but we won't know if it's successful for about a year. The Guardian reports that the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, part of the agency's DART mission to slam into the Dimorphos space rock,...

Odds of Asteroid Hitting Earth Inch Higher
Odds on Asteroid
Hit Going Up
Aug 12, 2021 9:20 AM CDT

Odds on Asteroid Hit Going Up

It's still very unlikely Bennu will strike in the next century

(Newser) - The good news is that scientists have a better handle on asteroid Bennu's whereabouts for the next 200 years. The bad news is that the space rock considered one of the two most hazardous known asteroids in our solar system has a slightly greater chance of clobbering Earth than...

For Dinosaurs, Asteroid Was Just a Final Blow
For Dinosaurs, Asteroid
Was Just a Final Blow
NEW STUDY
Jul 1, 2021 1:26 PM CDT

For Dinosaurs, Asteroid Was Just a Final Blow

Study suggests species were struggling before the big collision

(Newser) - You've heard how an asteroid strike 66 million years ago wiped out the dinosaurs . But there's more to the story, according to a new study, which suggests non-avian dinosaurs weren't doing so hot before sulfates and dust filled the atmosphere—some 10 million years before, in fact....

It Killed the Dinosaurs, but Then It Gave Birth to Something Else

You can thank the Chicxulub impact for our modern rainforests: study

(Newser) - We owe a lot to the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. For one thing, it gave us the lush tropical rainforests that help keep our planet healthy. That's according to a first-of-its-kind study published Friday in Science that looks at the effects of the...

NASA Nicks Near-Earth Asteroid From 'Risk List'

We're safe for 100 years

(Newser) - Whew, now here's some good cosmic news: NASA has given Earth the all clear for the next century from a particularly menacing asteroid, per the AP . The space agency announced this week that new telescope observations have ruled out any chance of Apophis smacking Earth in 2068. That’...

Asteroid 'Firework' Exploded With Force of 440lbs of TNT

It was seen from 4 US states and Canada

(Newser) - People in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and Quebec, Canada, claim to have witnessed an asteroid breaking up in the sky on Sunday, which turned out to be rattling. Many people reported hearing a rumble or sonic boom as a 10-pound bowling ball-sized chunk of an asteroid—traveling at...

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