Asteroid

Scientists studying the asteroid Bennu are reporting a long-suspected phenomenon whereby extreme temperature fluctuations are fracturing rocks on its surface, a process that could offer clues about the body’s past and possible future.

The exact nature of the bizarre interstellar object ‘Oumuamua remains a mystery. There’s been no shortage of ideas, but now astronomers at Yale and the University of Chicago have proposed that it’s a brand new type of object: a hydrogen iceberg.

While a gigantic asteroid slamming into the Earth is never a sign of good luck, a new study has shown that the dinosaur-killing asteroid hit the planet at the deadliest possible angle, maximizing the devastating climate change that followed.

Scientists using the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System telescope have discovered an asteroid that shows the property of a comet. Designated 2019 LD2, the Trojan asteroid shares the same orbit with Jupiter, yet exhibits a comet-like tail.

Data collected by Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft during its historic touchdown on asteroid Ryugu has revealed surprising characteristics of the ancient space rock, including signs of a close encounter with the Sun.

An MIT researcher proposes using solar sails to position deep-space probes on the edge of the solar system that could lay in wait before being unleashed and set on an intercept course with an interstellar visitor.

A small asteroid came within a cosmic hairbreadth of the ring of communications satellites circling the Earth in geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of about 35,000 km this week, passing the nearest satellite at a distance of about 1,200 km.

Researchers at CNRS in France and UNESP in Brazil have traced back the odd orbits of objects called Centaurs and found that 19 of them must have originated around another star, before being captured by the Sun’s gravity.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx unmanned probe has ticked off another key milestone on its epic journey, successfully completing a first practice run of a complex sampling sequence in close proximity to its target asteroid’s surface.

‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar interloper detected passing through our solar system, raised many questions. According to a new model, the object’s unusual shape and trajectory may be the result of a devastating close encounter with a star.

With OSIRIS-REx in close orbit around Bennu, we’ve already seen some pretty amazing up-close shots of the asteroid. And now, NASA has released a full global map of this rocky little world in unprecedented resolution.

The Minor Planet Center has announced that Earth now has two moons. But don’t bother running outside to check – this second satellite is tiny and temporary. The newcomer, designated 2020 CD3, measures between 1.9 and 3.5 m (6.2 and 11.5 ft) wide.