Asteroids | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/asteroids/RSS feed for AsteroidsenFri, 22 May 2026 20:14:29 +0000See NASA's Stunning New Images of Mars Captured During an Asteroid-Bound Spacecraft's Strategic Flybyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-nasas-stunning-new-images-of-mars-captured-during-an-asteroid-bound-spacecrafts-strategic-flyby-180988788/The Psyche mission, on its way to study an asteroid of the same name, approached within 2,864 miles of the red planet on May 15Fri, 22 May 2026 20:14:29 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-nasas-stunning-new-images-of-mars-captured-during-an-asteroid-bound-spacecrafts-strategic-flyby-180988788/This Tiny Celestial Body Past Pluto Shouldn't Have an Atmosphere—but Astronomers Say They May Have Detected Onehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-tiny-celestial-body-past-pluto-shouldnt-have-an-atmosphere-but-astronomers-say-they-may-have-detected-one-180988690/Worlds this small and distant are thought to be too cold and have too little surface gravity to hold onto gases. But the findings suggest that icy, rocky objects in the solar system's outer reaches are more dynamic than we thoughtFri, 08 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-tiny-celestial-body-past-pluto-shouldnt-have-an-atmosphere-but-astronomers-say-they-may-have-detected-one-180988690/The Hell Creek Formation Is North America's Legendary Boneyard. See the Top Five Discoveries Found in the Iconic Fossil Bedhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-hell-creek-formation-is-north-americas-legendary-boneyard-see-the-top-five-discoveries-found-in-the-iconic-fossil-bed-180988545/From preserved plants to T. rex, the material found in these Late Cretaceous rocks has resulted in countless breakthroughs for paleontologistsWed, 15 Apr 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-hell-creek-formation-is-north-americas-legendary-boneyard-see-the-top-five-discoveries-found-in-the-iconic-fossil-bed-180988545/Two Green 'Fireballs' Streaked Across the West Coast Sky, Some of the Latest in a String of Dazzling Meteors Above the U.S.https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/two-green-fireballs-streaked-across-the-west-coast-sky-some-of-the-latest-in-a-string-of-dazzling-meteors-above-the-us-180988441/Some of the space rocks exploded, causing loud booms, and a piece of one may have crashed into a houseFri, 27 Mar 2026 13:43:13 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/two-green-fireballs-streaked-across-the-west-coast-sky-some-of-the-latest-in-a-string-of-dazzling-meteors-above-the-us-180988441/