Rosetta bound for outer Solar System after final Earth swingby
This morning, mission controllers confirmed that ESA's comet chaser Rosetta had swung by Earth at 8:45 CET as planned, skimming past our planet to pick up a gravitational boost for an epic journey to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. view more (2009-11-16)
Follow Rosetta's final Earth boost
ESA's comet chaser Rosetta will swing by Earth for the last time on 13 November to pick up energy and begin the final leg of its 10-year journey to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ESA's European Space Operations Centre will host a media briefing on that day. view more (2009-11-05)
Nullarbor fireball cameras find rare meteorite
Using cameras which capture fireballs streaking across the night sky and sophisticated mathematics, a world-wide team of scientists have managed to find not only a tiny meteorite on the vast Nullarbor Plain, but also its orbit and the asteroid it came from. view more (2009-09-18)
Hubble captures rare Jupiter collision
The checkout and calibration of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been interrupted to aim the recently refurbished observatory at a new expanding spot on the giant planet Jupiter. view more (2009-07-27)
Jupiter pummeled, leaving bruise the size of the Pacific Ocean
Something slammed into Jupiter in the last few days, creating a dark bruise about the size of the Pacific Ocean. view more (2009-07-22)
Tiny diamonds on Santa Rosa Island give evidence of cosmic impact
Nanosized diamonds found just a few meters below the surface of Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Santa Barbara provide strong evidence of a cosmic impact event in North America approximately 12,900 years ago. view more (2009-07-22)
Primitive asteroids in the main asteroid belt may have formed far from the sun
Many of the objects found today in the asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter may have formed in the outermost reaches of the solar system. view more (2009-07-16)
Asteroid attack 3.9 billion years ago may have enhanced early life on Earth, says CU-Boulder study
The bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by asteroids as large as Kansas would not have had the firepower to extinguish potential early life on the planet and may even have given it a boost, says a new University of Colorado at Boulder study. view more (2009-05-21)
Princeton geoscientist offers new evidence that meteorite did not wipe out dinosaurs
A Princeton University geoscientist who has stirred controversy with her studies challenging a popular theory that an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs has compiled powerful new evidence asserting her position. view more (2009-05-05)
MESSENGER discovers an unusual impact basin on Mercury
A previously unknown, large impact basin has been discovered by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft during its second flyby of Mercury in October 2008. view more (2009-05-01)
We Owe It All to Comets
Comets have always fascinated us. A mysterious appearance could symbolize God's displeasure or mean a sure failure in battle, at least for one side. view more (2009-04-29)
Contrary to recent hypothesis, 'chevrons' are not evidence of megatsunamis
A persistent school of thought in recent years has held that so-called "chevrons," large U- or V-shaped formations found in some of the world's coastal areas, are evidence of megatsunamis caused by asteroids or comets slamming into the ocean. view more (2009-04-29)
New blow for dinosaur-killing asteroid theory
The enduringly popular theory that the Chicxulub crater holds the clue to the demise of the dinosaurs, along with some 65 percent of all species 65 million years ago, is challenged in a paper to be published in the Journal of the Geological Society on April 27, 2009. view more (2009-04-27)
Solar wind tans young asteroids
A new study published in Nature this week reveals that asteroid surfaces age and redden much faster than previously thought -- in less than a million years, the blink of an eye for an asteroid. This study has finally confirmed that the solar wind is the most likely cause of very rapid space weathering in asteroids. This fundamental result will... view more... (2009-04-23)
How to deflect asteroids and save the Earth
You may want to thank David French in advance. Because, in the event that a comet or asteroid comes hurtling toward Earth, he may be the guy responsible for saving the entire planet. view more (2009-04-17)
UK astronomers observe asteroid before it crashes into Earth
UK astronomers, using the Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC) William Herschel Telescope on La Palma, observed a rare asteroid as it was hurtling towards our planet and have captured the only spectrum of it before it exploded in our atmosphere. view more (2009-03-27)
Study unravels why certain fishes went extinct 65 million years ago
Large size and a fast bite spelled doom for bony fishes during the last mass extinction 65 million years ago, according to a new study to be published March 31, 2009, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. view more (2009-03-27)
We saw it coming: Asteroid monitored from outer space to ground impact
Reports by scientists of meteorites striking Earth in the past have resembled police reports of so many muggings - the offenders came out of nowhere and then disappeared into the crowd, making it difficult to get more than very basic facts. view more (2009-03-26)
Half-baked asteroids have Earth-like crust
Asteroids are hunks of rock that orbit in the outer reaches of space, and scientists have generally assumed that their small size limited the types of rock that could form in their crusts. view more (2009-01-08)
How to Destroy an Asteroid
In the hit 1998 movie Armageddon, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck blew up an asteroid to save the world. While the film was science fiction, the chances of an asteroid hitting the Earth one day are very real ― and blowing up an asteroid in real life. view more (2008-12-04)
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