Asteroids
Latest about Asteroids

NASA's asteroid-crash Earth defense tactic has a complication — DART ejected large boulders into space
By Keith Cooper published
"You can think of it as a cosmic pool game. We might miss the pocket if we don't consider all the variables."

See asteroid Donaldjohanson up close thanks to NASA's Lucy mission | Space photo of the day for July 7, 2025
By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published
On April 20th, NASA's Lucy was in the sky, not with diamonds, but with an asteroid.

'Like finding a tropical seed in Arctic ice': How a surprise mineral could change the history of asteroid Ryugu
By Keith Cooper published
"Its occurrence is like finding a tropical seed in Arctic ice – indicating either an unexpected local environment or long-distance transport in the early solar system."

A hidden asteroid family may share Venus' orbit: 'It's like discovering a continent you didn't know existed'
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
Simulations of asteroids near Venus reveal gaps in our ability to detect them.

NASA raises the odds that an asteroid could hit the moon in 2032
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
Asteroid 2024 YR4, once the highest impact risk ever recorded, now poses no threat to Earth but has a slightly increased chance of striking the moon in 2032.

US Representatives worry Trump's NASA budget plan will make it harder to track dangerous asteroids
By Monisha Ravisetti published
During a House Committee on Space, Science and Technology hearing, experts discussed the state of NASA's planetary defense capabilities.

After the Arecibo collapse in 2020, a lone NASA radar dish in the Mojave desert stepped up as a leading asteroid hunter
By Nola Taylor Tillman published
The unexpected 2020 collapse of the Arecibo Observatory left NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar as the new heavy hitter when it comes to finding and studying asteroids.

Asteroid Vesta could be a fragment of a solar system planet, but which one?
By Keith Cooper published
The interior of asteroid Vesta has been shown not to be a protoplanet after all, meaning that new explanations for its origin are needed.

Lost in space: Why some meteorites look less 'shocked' than others
By Victoria Corless published
Scientists have long wondered why carbon-rich meteorites appear less affected by violent impacts than those lacking the stuff. They may finally have an answer.

NASA's Lucy probe captures 1st close-up images of asteroid Donaldjohanson, revealing 'strikingly complicated geology'
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
NASA's Lucy spacecraft, currently journeying toward Jupiter's orbit on its asteroid-hopping mission, captured an impressive close-up of its second target: the main belt asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson.
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