All articles tagged with #asteroid
Scientists model 16 Psyche’s cratering, including porosity, showing two viable interior scenarios — an exposed planetary core or a metal-rich rock mix — while NASA’s Psyche mission (launched in 2023) will visit in a few years to measure porosity and composition and settle the question.
Aarti Holla-Maini, director of UNOOSA, triggered the UN’s first global planetary‑defence alert when asteroid 2024 YR4’s Earth‑impact probability rose from under 0.05% to over 1%, reaching Torino level 3; a rapid international response and consideration of deflection were drafted, testing real‑world space governance. UNOOSA’s Vienna team also coordinates satellite registrations and disaster response, and while the risk subsided by early 2025, the episode underscored the growing challenges of space traffic.
A car-sized near-Earth asteroid named 2026 FM3, discovered days ago by the Zwicky Transient Facility at Palomar, will pass by Earth tonight at roughly 237,918 km (about 0.618 lunar distances) at ~11,461 mph. The flyby is timed for 10:07 p.m. EDT (02:07 GMT) and the object will also miss the Moon a few hours later, at about 595,492 km. With an estimated diameter of 4–8 meters, it poses no risk to Earth or the Moon, and NASA expects no close approaches for the next century. The event highlights how upcoming observatories will keep finding many more near-Earth objects.)
3-D impact simulations of 16 Psyche show that interior porosity strongly affects crater depth and the retention of impact material, offering clues about whether Psyche is the metallic core of a vanished protoplanet; NASA's Psyche mission (arriving in 2029) will test these interior models and deepen our understanding of planetary formation.
Researchers analyzing asteroid Ryugu samples found the five DNA/RNA nucleobases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, uracil) plus ammonia, suggesting primitive solar-system chemistry could seed life's ingredients on Earth; a German study shows a bacterial consortium can degrade several phthalate esters used in plastics via cross-feeding; and new Hubble images captured the breakup of Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) as it left the solar system, with Engadget recapping other notable science stories from the week.
Astronomers using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory observed a 710-meter asteroid, 2025 MN45, completing a rotation in 1.9 minutes—far faster than the ~2.2-hour limit for an object of its size—hinting at a solid rock or metal composition and prompting a rethink of asteroid rotational physics, based on data published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
New evidence confirms the Silverpit Crater beneath the North Sea was formed by a ~160-meter asteroid at ~15 km/s in the middle Eocene (43–46 million years ago), generating a tsunami over 100 meters high within minutes.
NASA says a bright asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere and exploded in an airburst, producing a loud sonic boom audible in at least ten states; observers across the region (including around Cleveland) reported hearing it, but officials say there is no threat to Earth and investigations are ongoing.
New measurements with powerful telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope, show asteroid 2024 YR4 will safely pass the Moon at more than 20,000 km away, ruling out Earth or Moon collision risks and highlighting the value of ongoing near-Earth object tracking for planetary defense.
NASA's DART mission intentionally collided its spacecraft with the asteroid Dimorphos to test whether altering its trajectory could defend Earth from future impacts, marking the first demonstration of planetary defense in action.
Initial concerns that the 60-meter asteroid 2024 YR4 could hit Earth or the Moon in 2032 were resolved after James Webb Space Telescope observations, which show the object will miss both the Earth and the Moon—likely by at least about 20,000 km for the Moon—while Earth impact remains highly unlikely; NASA and partners continue monitoring and refining planetary defense efforts.
NASA says asteroid 2024 YR4 is not expected to hit the Moon or Earth in 2032, with a predicted flyby about 13,200 miles from the Moon after Webb telescope observations refined its orbit; the earlier 4.3% lunar-impact risk is now ruled out, and NASA notes ongoing planetary-defense efforts such as the DART mission.
Updated orbital data show asteroid 2024 YR4 is not on a collision course with the Moon in 2032, removing any expectation of an impact.
Scientists analyzing 121.6 grams of asteroid Bennu returned by NASA found molecules that could form crystalline structures linked to consciousness, fueling a provocative idea that the ingredients for consciousness might have existed before life itself on Earth.
An ~2-meter asteroid named 2025 TF passed Antarctica at about 428 km altitude—too close to be safe and unseen until after it already flew by. The event underscores how detection of tiny near-Earth objects has surged (ATLAS and bigger datasets since 2000–07 vs 2017–26) but also reveals blind spots, as larger 200-meter rock 2025 FA22 was only spotted six months before a close approach. Rubin Observatory and NASA’s space-based NEO Surveyor (targeted for 2027) aim to close these gaps, improving lead times for potential deflections in the future.