Asteroids
Asteroid 2004 MN4 Gets the Highest Score on the Torino Scale
A newly discovered 400-metre (1,300 ft) asteroid has been given a 2 on the Torino asteroid impact scale; the first…
Why Eros Has So Few Craters
When the NEAR spacecraft approached the Asteroid Eros in 2000/2001, scientists found much less small impact craters than they were…
Toutatis Safely Passes the Earth
As predicted, Asteroid Toutatis made its closest approach to the Earth today, passing a mere 1.5 million km (930,000 miles)…
Toutatis Sneaks Past the Earth on Wednesday
Asteroid Toutatis, a frequent visitor in our neighborhood, will pass as close as 1.5 million km (960,000) miles to the…
What Impact Would Set the World on Fire?
When a huge asteroid slammed into the Earth 65 million years ago, it began a catastrophic chain of events that…
New Plan to Move an Asteroid
The European Space Agency is considering an ambitious new mission that will attempt to move an asteroid. Named Don Quijote,…
Asteroid Wiped Out the Dinosaurs in Hours
It seems that when an asteroid struck the Earth 65 million years ago, the resulting heat pulse incinerated every dinosaur…
Closest Asteroid to the Sun Found
While searching for near Earth-asteroids, astronomers at Lowell Observatory found an object which orbits closer to the Sun than any…
Asteroids Change Colour With Age
A team of astronomers led by the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy have found evidence that asteroids change colour…
Asteroid That Nearly Ended Life on Earth
Approximately 250 million years ago, something nearly wiped out life on Earth; 90% of marine animals and 80% of land…