Asteroids Archives

November 21, 2024November 21, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Here’s What We Know About Earth’s Temporary Mini-Moon

For a little over a month now, the Earth has been joined by a new ‘mini-moon.’ The object is an asteroid that has been temporarily accompanying Earth on its journey around the Sun. By 25th November it will have departed but before then, astronomers across the world have been turning their telescopes to study it. A new paper of 2024 PT5 reveals its basaltic nature – similar to volcanic rocks on Earth – with a composition that makes it similar to lunar material. There have been many close encounters to Earth allowing many of its secrets to be unveiled.

October 30, 2024October 30, 2024 by Evan Gough

Tiny Fragments of a 4-Billion Year Old Asteroid Reveal Its History

Asteroid Ryugu contains organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, thought to be chemical building blocks for life. Courtesy ISAS/JAXA — Asteroid Ryugu as seen by Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft, which returned a sample of the ancient asteroid to Earth in 2020. Image Courtesy ISAS/JAXA

In June 2018, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 mission reached asteroid 162173 Ryugu. It studied the asteroid for about 15 months, deploying small rovers and a lander, before gathering a sample and returning it to Earth in December 2020.

The Ryugu sample contains some of the Solar System’s most ancient, primitive, and unaltered material, opening a window into its earliest days about 4.6 billion years ago.

October 28, 2024October 28, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Astronauts Could Take an Asteroid Ferry from Earth to Mars

This idea really is quite a fascinating one. Currently a trip to Mars would require large amounts of air, water and other resources to sustain human life but would also expose travellers to harmful levels of radiation. A wonderful solution has been proposed in a new paper recently published by researchers from Ukraine. They propose that asteroids which already travel relatively close by Earth, Mars and even Venus already could be used to hop between the planets. They are already making the journey anyway and so perhaps the cosmos already provides the solution to interplanetary travel.

October 16, 2024October 16, 2024 by Andy Tomaswick

Hera Says Farewell to the Earth and Moon

Testing the equipment on an interstellar mission is one of the first things operators do when the spacecraft successfully launches. In some cases, those tests show the future troubles the mission will face, such as what happened to NASA’s Lucy mission a few years ago. However, in some cases, the mission provides us with perspectives we might never have seen before, which was the case for Hera, ESA’s mission to Dimorphos. This asteroid was deflected successfully during NASA’s DART test in 2022.

September 30, 2024September 30, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Nuclear Detonations Could Deflect Dangerous Asteroids Away from Earth

Before you read the rest of this article know there are no known threats to life on Earth! We shouldn’t sit complacently on this tiny rock in space though so NASA have been working on ways to neutralise potential asteroid threats should they arise. The DART mission proved it was possible to alter the trajectory of an asteroid in space. Direct impact though where a probe smashes into the rock is one way but potentially not the best. A team of researchers have now been exploring ways that a nuclear explosion near an asteroid may send a blast of X-rays sufficiently powerful to vaporise material generating thrust to redirect the asteroid.

September 18, 2024September 18, 2024 by Nancy Atkinson

NASA Watches a Peanut-Shaped Asteroid Drift Past Earth

Near-Earth asteroid 2024 ON. Credit: NASA/JPL.

Peanuts! Get your peanuts here! The Solar System has been passing out peanuts lately in the form of two different oddly shaped asteroids that recently passed by Earth, and both look like over-sized peanuts. The latest peanut-shaped asteroid pass was on September 16, 2024, when the near-Earth asteroid 2024 ON came within 1 million kilometers (62,000 miles) of Earth (2.6 times the Earth-Moon distance). Radar imaging revealed the asteroid was peanut-shaped because it is actually a contact binary – which means it is made of two smaller objects touching each other. NASA says the two rounded lobes are separated by a pronounced neck, and one lobe about 50% larger than the other.

In total, 2024 ON measures about 350 meters (382 yards) long. The radar could resolve features down to about 3.75 meters across on the surface, including brighter boulders. NASA says about 14% of asteroids in this size range (larger than about 200 meters (660 feet)) are contact binaries.

September 17, 2024September 17, 2024 by Evan Gough

There are Plenty of Uses for Powerful Lasers in Space. But Where Should We Put Them?

Recently, Astronomers spotted three near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) hiding in the glare of the Sun. These NEAs are part of an elusive population that lurks inside the orbits of Earth and Venus. One of the asteroids is the largest object that is potentially hazardous to Earth to be discovered in the last eight years. Could we use space lasers to protect Earth from these hazards? Image Credit: DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine

Is it time for space lasers yet? Almost.

As time passes, ideas that were once confined to the realm of science fiction become more realistic. It’s true of things like using robots to explore other worlds. Space lasers are a well-used element in science fiction, and we’re approaching the time when they could become a reality.

Where would we put them, and what could we use them for?

September 17, 2024September 17, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Earth Will Have a Tiny New Mini-Moon for a Few Months

An illustration of a completely unrelated asteroid

The Moon has inspired poets and artists, musicians and playwrights. The sight of our one and only Moon is familiar to anyone that has ever glanced up at the night time (and sometimes day time sky!) Every so often though, our Moon (note the use of capital ‘M’)is joined by a small asteroid that wanders too close. Astronomers have detected an 11-metre wide asteroid that has the snappy name 2024 PT5 and it came within 567,000 kilometres of Earth and will become a temporary satellite from 29 September until 25 November when it will leave our system.

September 4, 2024September 4, 2024 by Evan Gough

A Surprise Asteroid Lit Up the Sky Over the Philippines

This image shows the predicted path over the Philippines for the surprise asteroid 2024 RW1. It's small and will burn up harmlessly. Image Credit: Catalina Sky Survey/ESA

With all of humanity’s telescopic eyes on the sky, it’s rare for an asteroid to take us by surprise. But that’s what happened this morning in the sky over the Philippines. Only hours after it was detected, it burned up in a bright flash above the island of Luzon.

August 29, 2024August 29, 2024 by Evan Gough

The Rubin Observatory Will Unleash a Flood of NEO Detections

The Vera Rubin Observatory is poised to begin observations next year. It could detect 130 Near Earth Objects each night. Image Credit: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA/B. Quint

After about 10 years of construction, the Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) is scheduled to see its first light in January 2025. Once it’s up and running, it will begin its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a decade-long effort to photograph the entire visible sky every few nights. It’ll study dark energy and dark matter, map the Milky Way, and detect transient astronomical events and small Solar System objects like Near Earth Objects (NEOs).

New research shows the LSST will detect about 130 NEOs per night in the first year of observations.