Collision

Self-driving cars typically use radar or LiDAR technology to avoid collisions with other vehicles. Scientists have now created a much simpler insect-inspired system that could serve the same purpose more efficiently – at night, that is.

Astronomers have discovered three new near-Earth asteroids, including the closest known to the Sun. Another is one of the largest known asteroids considered potentially hazardous to Earth, measuring almost a mile wide with an orbit close to our own.

It’s believed that the Moon formed billions of years ago, from debris from a cosmic collision with Earth. New high-resolution simulations not only illustrate the idea in stunning detail, but reveal that the Moon’s birth might have taken mere hours.

Amongst the risks faced by urban cyclists is the possibility of being struck from behind by an automobile. The Cobra ebike is designed to reduce that risk, with a rearview camera system that warns of impending impacts.

While there are now systems that allow cars to see obstacles which their drivers may not notice, such setups still can't detect hazards that aren't in direct line of sight. New tech, however, uses other vehicles and roadside cameras to do that job.

Oakland-based electric mobility firm Unagi has teamed up with acclaimed industrial designer Yves Behar for a smooth-looking, full-suspension e-kickscoot with AI smarts that warn riders of possible collisions with people or objects.

If you're the user of a powered wheelchair, it goes without saying that you really don't want that chair to tip over, or to crash into obstacles. The LUCI system – which gets added to existing chairs – is intended to keep those things from happening.

Asteroid Apophis has attracted its share of attention, with several projected close shaves with Earth in the coming decades. While most have been ruled out, a previously-overlooked factor has opened a small window for a possible collision in 2068.

The LIGO collaboration has announced the detection of gravitational waves from a pair of neutron stars colliding. This marks just the second time ever that this kind of event has been spotted, as the smash-up sent ripples through spacetime itself.

If other star systems are anything like our own, they’ve probably had turbulent histories of exoplanets smashing into each other. And now, astronomers have found evidence of just such a cataclysm happening in the relatively recent past.

Data from the Juno probe found that Jupiter's core is less dense and more spread out than expected. Now, astronomers believe they have an answer – a huge ancient planet, with 10 times the mass of Earth, crashed into the gas giant in the early days of the solar system.

Of all the things you don’t want to lose, an asteroid with a chance of striking Earth is pretty high up the list. A potentially dangerous space rock called 2006 QV89 has been missing in action for 13 years, but now astronomers have finally found it, and ruled out an impact within the next century.