Asteroids

An orbital diagram shows that 2023 BU's trajectory (in red) passed closer to Earth on January 26, 2023 than the orbits of geosynchronous satellites (in green). 

An Asteroid Just Passed Very Close to Earth

The truck-sized space rock came within 2,200 miles of our planet, closer than some satellites

None

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2022

From Omicron’s spread to a revelation made using ancient DNA, these were the biggest moments of the past year

A red-eyed treefrog hangs on to a leaf in Costa Rica.

Why Frogs Survived the Asteroid That Wiped Out the Dinosaurs

Not too big, not too small—they were just the right size to live through Earth’s worst day

An artist's rendition of an asteroid. 

Three Near-Earth Asteroids Were Hiding in the Sun’s Glare

One of them, which measures nearly one mile wide, might cross paths with Earth in the distant future

Asteroid moonlet Dimorphos as seen by the DART spacecraft 11 seconds before impact. 

NASA Successfully Altered an Asteroid’s Orbit

The agency's DART mission exceeded expectations, marking the first time humans have changed the trajectory of a celestial body

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft launched in November 2021 in California, riding atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.   

NASA Successfully Crashed a Spacecraft Into Its Asteroid Target

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a first step toward defending Earth from threatening space rocks

A second asteroid may have struck the dinosaurs at the end of Cretaceous period, around 66 million years ago

The Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid May Have Had a Companion

A newly discovered crater suggests a second impact that would have triggered underwater landslides and tsunamis

The carbon-rich asteroid is of interest to researchers because the chunk of rock has remained unchanged since the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.

Building Blocks of Life Found on Samples Collected From an Asteroid

The find suggests that amino acids could land on Earth on meteorites

Researchers turned to Mercury for the possibility of impact-born diamonds because previous surveys of the planet and molten rock found that the surface may have fragments of graphite, a carbon-rich mineral.

Mercury's Cratered Crust May Hold Glittering Gemstones

Fragments of a graphite shell from the planet's past and a series of violent meteorite impacts may have combined to form sparkling diamonds

Reconstruction of debris surging into the Tanis River as impact spherules rain down from the sky. A dinosaur tries to get away from the disaster.

Asteroid That Decimated the Dinosaurs Struck in Spring

Clues from fossil fish help scientists pinpoint the season when Earth’s fifth mass extinction began

One reader wonders if European modernists thought of the American painter Georgia O’Keeffe as a remarkable artist.  

Ask Smithsonian

Was Georgia O'Keeffe's Genius Appreciated Outside of America? And More Questions From Our Readers

You've got questions. We've got experts.

Stargazers watch Comet Neowise shoot across the sky on July 19, 2020 outside of Los Angeles, California.

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2022

Stargazers in North America can look forward to meteor showers, lunar eclipses and a stunning multi-planet lineup this year

If found to be made of metal and a planetesimal, Psyche could reveal what the inside of planets like Earth looks like underneath the layers of mantle and crust, and further help researchers understand how the Solar System formed.

This Metal-Rich, Potato-Shaped Asteroid Could Be Worth $10 Quintillion

In August, NASA is sending an orbiter to the space object, which may be the partial remains of planet-forming material made of nickel and iron

Two reseach teams analyzed a sample of the Ryugu's surface.

What Five Grams of 'Primordial' Stardust From an Asteroid Tell Scientists About How the Early Solar System Formed

Ryugu is a carbonaceous, water-rich space rock with a unique, dark coloration and porous composition

Over the course of our planet’s history, major impacts by comets and asteroids are plentiful.

The Very Real Effort to Track Killer Asteroids and Comets

In "Don't Look Up," researchers warn authorities about a comet hurtling towards Earth. Such a scenario isn’t just science fiction

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope snapped this picture of the Centaur LD2 as it orbited near Jupiter.

The Ambitious Idea to Study the Evolution of a Comet

Researchers want to send a spacecraft near Jupiter to join up with a chunk of rock and ice as it’s flung toward the sun

Not much is known about mysterious quasisatellites because of their small dimensions, distance, and ability to conceal themselves in the shadows. Kamoʻoalewa is the first quasisatellite to move within observing range of large telescopes.

A Chip Off the Moon May Be Tailing Earth on Its Orbit Around the Sun

Researchers suspect the fragment may have been debris from a cratering event on the lunar surface

Lucy measures more than 46 feet wide, and about 24 feet tall and is equipped with solar arrays on its main body that allow it to power up its instruments. Each camera will enable Lucy to study the surface of the asteroids, detect traces of water or minerals, and count craters or rings.  

NASA's Lucy Probe Asteroid Mission Will Study Fossil-Like Origins of Our Solar System

The spacecraft launches on October 16 and is expected to reach its target by 2027

This mosaic of Bennu was created using observations made by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft that was in close proximity to the asteroid for over two years.

In 2182, It Could Be Cloudy With a Chance of Asteroid

Scientists calculate Bennu will come close, but will most likely miss Earth in about 160 years

An illustration depicting some of the dinosaurs that roamed the Earth during the Late Cretaceous.

New Research

Dinosaurs May Have Been Declining Before the Asteroid Struck Earth

The researchers say the cataclysmic impact may have simply been the final nail in the dinos’ coffin

loading icon