Tag

Asteroid

All articles tagged with #asteroid

space6 days 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

science8 days 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

space14 days 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

science14 days 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

science21 days 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

space21 days 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

space1 month 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

space1 month 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

science1 month 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

space1 month 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

science1 month 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

science1 month 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

space1 month ago•14 min saved

Psyche: a metal-rich asteroid reshaping planetary science

Asteroid 16 Psyche, about 225 km wide in the main belt, may contain large amounts of iron and nickel, prompting a back‑of‑the‑envelope figure of around $10 quintillion that is more a scale marker than a mining forecast. NASA’s Psyche mission (launched 2023) will map its composition and structure to understand whether it’s a remnant planetary core or a mixed rock-metal body, shedding light on planetary formation rather than turning Psyche into a market resource.

via Space Daily|

#asteroid #iron #nasa

space1 month ago•104 min saved

Chinese study outlines two nuclear routes to divert an Earth-bound asteroid

A peer‑reviewed Chinese study proposes two nuclear‑detonation approaches to stop a threatening asteroid: a shallow-crater detonation and a deeper, pre‑excavation detonation. Modeling suggests that, with ample warning time, the deep‑crater method could couple more energy and impart about a 1 m/s velocity change to a roughly 100‑meter asteroid within about 60 days, potentially pushing it off a collision course; the shallow method could be deployed faster but offers weaker energy transfer and more stringent timing. The researchers note many real‑world challenges remain—asteroid composition, debris risks, weapon delivery, and other logistical issues—though NASA’s DART mission shows that deflection is feasible in principle.

via Space|

#asteroid #defense #deflection

space1 month ago•0 min saved

China unveils image of asteroid possibly Earth's quasi-moon ahead of sample return

China released the first image of an asteroid some astronomers say could be a fragment from the Moon, and the Tianwen-2 mission is planned to collect a sample and return it to Earth.

via NBC News|

#asteroid #china #quasi-moon