Impact

A meter-wide meteoroid impacted the Moon's surface September 11, 2013, producing a bright explosion and digging a new crater about 40 meters in diameter. Seen as a bright flash of light in a video of the event, the asteroid impact is the largest visually-confirmed impact on the Moon.

Earth saw in the New Year with some celestial fireworks with the first asteroid to be discovered this year, 2014AA, likely having impacted the Earth between 7 pm Wednesday and 2 pm Thursday GMT. Though not a rare event, it is only the second object to be detected just prior to striking the Earth.

To help avoid being surprised by new discoveries of near-Earth asteroids and comets, NASA, Planetary Resources, and Zooniverse have formed a collaboration to use citizen scientists to detect members of the vast swarm of near-Earth objects not yet recognized or mapped.

While some people have developed impact sensors that can be attached to football players' helmets, a student at Utah's Brigham Young University has devised something less obtrusive – impact-sensing helmet-lining foam.

Rhino Shield is reportedly five times more impact-resistant than unprotected Gorilla Glass 2. Its makers recently sent me a testing kit, so I could see first-hand just how tough it is – without endangering my smartphone in the process. Here's how things turned out ...

Almost 47 percent of US jobs could be computerized within two decades according to a study that attempts to gauge the impact of computers on the job market. It isn't only manual labor jobs affected: The study reveals a trend of computers taking over cognitive tasks thanks to big data.

The Shockbox Sensor attaches to an athlete's helmet, and alerts their coach via Bluetooth if they receive a severe head impact.

The ICEdot Crash Sensor pairs to a smartphone to automatically send a call for help, complete with GPS coordinates, when an accident is detected.

Two amateur astronomers have independently reported impacts on Jupiter.

Mercedes-Benz has announced that the Beltbag inflatable seat-belt strap first seen in its ESF2009 Experimental Safety Vehicle is set to go into production and debut in an as yet unnamed luxury-class model.

An air bag system for astronauts evacuating the International Space Station should allow for soft landings.

Researchers have found a way for the automotive industry to mass-produce a particularly safe class of materials that can absorb the enormous forces generated in a collision without splintering.