Tag

Asteroid

All articles tagged with #asteroid

space1 month ago•3 min saved

Six-hour alert: 80-centimeter asteroid detected before atmospheric entry

A tiny 80 cm asteroid, initially CERNQ52 and later named 2026 RW1, was detected by Mount Lemmon Observatory just six hours before it entered Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean off NW Australia; there was no damage. This marks only the 13th time an asteroid has been spotted before atmospheric entry, highlighting advances in automated sky surveys (like the Catalina Sky Survey) and warning systems (ESA Meerkat) in planetary defense, and suggesting Aten-type asteroids crossing Earth’s orbit can be monitored before impact.

via BBC Sky at Night Magazine|

#2026-rw1 #asteroid #aten-asteroid

space1 month ago•31 min saved

Tiny 2026 RW1 becomes 13th asteroid spotted before Earth impact

Asteroid 2026 RW1, a small Aten-type near-Earth object estimated at 0.6–1.3 m, was first observed by the Mt. Lemmon Survey and, after about 7 hours 22 minutes of tracking, entered Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia on Sept. 6, 2026. ESA classified it as the 13th predicted Earth impactor, using its Meerkat system to test trajectories from a short observation arc; the object burned up on entry, making meteorite recovery unlikely.

via The Watchers - Watching the world evolve and transform|

#2026-rw1 #asteroid #earth-impactor

science1 month ago•3 min saved

One-meter asteroid to blaze a bright meteor over NW Australia today

A ~1-meter asteroid (CERNQ52) is predicted to enter Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean near northwest Australia around 16:07 UTC today, likely producing a bright meteor; observers in the area may see a flash, but it poses no danger.

via EarthSky|

#asteroid #astronomy #australia

space1 month ago•12 min saved

Nysa Reveals a Trilobate Asteroid, Challenging the Two-Lobe Rule

New ground-based images from SHARK-VIS and SPHERE/ZIMPOL show asteroid (44) Nysa has three connected lobes with two necks and a newly discovered moon, S/2026 (44) 1. This trilobate shape shatters the long-standing pattern of two-lobed contact binaries and prompts two competing formation scenarios—a low-velocity reassembly into a contact trilobate or a single parent body reshaped by a hit-and-run collision. Distinguishing between them will require internal density/composition data beyond shape alone; the finding also suggests we may need to re-examine other two-lobed asteroids for hidden features.

via Space Daily|

#asteroid #main-belt #moon

science1 month ago•16 min saved

Three-headed asteroid 44 Nysa spotted with its own moon, Earth safe for now

Astronomers using the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona and the Very Large Telescope in Chile have found asteroid 44 Nysa is three-lobed and has a moon, S/2026(44)1, orbiting about 106 miles away. The ~47-mile-wide, enstatite rock could have formed from fused lobes or a battered body and may shed light on how Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago. Nysa is roughly 27 million miles from Earth and, while NEAs exist, it won’t hit us anytime soon; scientists also discuss potential planetary-defense options for future threats.

via Metro.co.uk|

#44-nysa #asteroid #enstatite

space1 month ago•6 min saved

Triple-Lobed Nysa Reshapes Our View of How Planets Form

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope and SHARK-VIS, with adaptive optics, reveal that asteroid 44 Nysa in the inner belt has a three-lobed structure connected by two necks—unlike the more common bilobed shapes—about 80 km across. Two formation scenarios are proposed: a single object heavily deformed by collisions or an assembly of three smaller bodies that merged. If confirmed, Nysa’s unusual form could offer new clues about asteroid and planetary formation and the early history of the solar system.

via Futura, le média qui explore le monde|

#adaptive-optics #asteroid #nysa

science2 months ago•11 min saved

Geology-Driven Catastrophe: How Chicxulub Turned a Space Rock into a Global Climate Crisis

A 10-km asteroid hit the Yucatán 66 million years ago, vaporising sulfur-rich rocks beneath it and lofting sulfur-bearing gases and dust into the atmosphere; the impact angle and local geology amplified the effect, triggering global cooling and a mass extinction, though the exact atmospheric recipe is still being refined by researchers.

via Space Daily|

#asteroid #chicxulub #climate

science2 months ago•130 min saved

Solar system’s first trilobate asteroid spotted, with a tiny moon in tow

New images of asteroid (44) Nysa from the Very Large Telescope and Large Binocular Telescope reveal a trilobate, three‑headed shape and a small moon, S/2026 (44) 1, orbiting at about 170 km. The body is roughly 75 km in circumference and may be a contact triple or an unusually irregular object, offering insights into how inner‑solar‑system bodies formed.

via Space|

#asteroid #moon #nysa

space2 months ago•12 min saved

Cratering tactic could shatter near-Earth asteroids with a buried nuclear blast

Chinese researchers propose burying a nuclear device inside a near-Earth asteroid and detonating it to create a deep crater that alters its path; simulations suggest a 200-bomb Hiroshima-scale blast buried about 30 meters could completely break apart a ~100 m asteroid, and for larger rocks the detonation could yield a delta-v over 30 cm/s—offering a foundation for defence against short-warning asteroids, though practical and safety issues remain.

via The Independent|

#asteroid #chinese #nasa

space2 months ago•3 min saved

28-Year Identity Swap: 1998 SH2 Is a Comet, Not an Asteroid

A near-Earth object long tracked as a possible asteroid (1998 SH2) was shown to be a comet after nongravitational forces from outgassing altered its path; subsequent observations with large telescopes detected a faint tail, and the object was redesignated as P/1998 SH2, highlighting the existence of dark comets and the importance of continuous tracking for planetary defense.

via Gizmodo|

#1998-sh2 #asteroid #comet

space2 months ago•107 min saved

Hayabusa2's 800-meter close shave reveals Torifune as a binary asteroid

Hayabusa2 pushed its aging craft to a record-close 800-meter flyby of the near‑Earth asteroid Torifune, a binary rock, after a heated debate over risk; the mission returned close images and science data from all four instruments, including nine seconds of Thermal Infrared Imaging and a possible first LIDAR ranging during an asteroid flyby, with about 25 MB of data downlinked initially and some 300 MB total expected. The operation demonstrated fast reconnaissance capabilities for planetary defense and paves the way for the spacecraft's 2031 rendezvous with KY26.

via Space|

#asteroid #flyby #hayabusa2

science2 months ago•5 min saved

Amateur astronomer mistakes Musk’s Roadster for an asteroid, sparking a brief space scare

An amateur Turkish astronomer briefly mistook SpaceX’s 2018 Tesla Roadster for a newly discovered near-Earth asteroid, triggering a short-lived scare until astrophysicist Peter Veres explained it was an artificial satellite in a long heliocentric orbit; the Roadster remains far from Earth and poses no immediate danger, continuing its orbit around the Sun with only a very long-term chance of collision.

via supercarblondie.com|

#asteroid #astronomy #elon-musk

space2 months ago•9 min saved

New Jersey meteorite reveals ancient asteroid chemistry on Earth

Scientists analyzing fragments from the New Jersey meteorite report preserved material from near the surface of a primitive asteroid, indicating salty fluids once altered the rock. By tracing its fall with camera footage and forensic study, researchers link the debris to the asteroid belt, offering clues about asteroid composition and how materials might have delivered life's building blocks to Earth.

via The Independent|

#asteroid #earth #meteorite

science2 months ago•18 min saved

Roof-Crash Meteorite Reveals an Unusual Cosmic Visitor

A meteorite crashed through a Hillsborough, New Jersey home in July 2024 and, contrary to NASA’s initial belief that it vaporized, researchers recovered material that enabled study of an unusual asteroid, shedding light on the makeup of cosmic rocks.

via The New York Times|

#asteroid #meteorite #nasa

science2 months ago•5 min saved

Tianwen-2 Reaches Earth's Quasi-Moon, Sends First Images of Kamo'oalewa

China’s Tianwen-2 probe has rendezvoused with the near-Earth quasi-satellite Kamo’oalewa, returning the first images from roughly 20 km away after a 400-day, 1-billion-km journey. The mission now aims to land briefly on the 41-meter asteroid to collect samples for return to Earth in 2027, a feat that would join Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, and OSIRIS-REx in asteroid-sample history. New analyses also question Kamo’oalewa’s lunar-origin hypothesis, suggesting it may be LL chondrite material that drifted from the Flora family.

via WIRED|

#asteroid #kamooalewa #sample-return