The ‘Riskiest Asteroid Ever’ Is No Longer a Threat as Impact Probability Drops to Near Zero
As astronomers predicted, asteroid 2024 YR4 is not expected to hit Earth in 2032. This week, NASA gave the “all clear”
Chance of Asteroid Strike in 2032 Drops Sharply After Record-Setting Rise. Here’s Why It Keeps Changing
NASA announced that asteroid 2024 YR4 now has a 0.28 percent chance of hitting Earth in 2032, but that number is expected to continue shifting with further observations
Two of the Moon’s Grand Canyons Were Formed in Just Ten Violent Minutes, New Study Suggests
Scientists say Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck—dramatic trenches near the lunar south pole—were carved in a blast that unleashed 130 times the amount of energy in Earth’s global nuclear weapons inventory
Astronomers Raise Odds of Asteroid Impact in 2032 to 2.3 Percent—Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Panic
The chance of a newly discovered space rock hitting Earth in about eight years was predicted at 1.6 percent last week. Though that number’s rising, experts say further research could bring it to zero
An Amateur Astronomer Seemingly Spotted a New Asteroid. It Turned Out to Be a Tesla in Space
The car, launched in 2018 on a SpaceX rocket’s upper stage, is one of many human-made objects in deep space that could potentially be mistaken for natural celestial bodies
Scientists Discover Traces of Salt Water and Building Blocks of Life in NASA’s Samples From the Asteroid Bennu
Two new papers describe hints to a brine-filled environment on the 4.5-billion-year-old space rock and the presence of amino acids, offering clues to how early Earth got its ingredients for life
How to Watch the Quadrantid Meteor Shower, an Intense Spectacle With a Short but Strong Peak
The skyward show will produce many shooting stars from the evening of January 2 into the early morning hours of January 3—here’s how to make the most of the fleeting celestial event
Astronomers Detect the Smallest Main Belt Asteroids Ever Found by Repurposing a Technique for Exoplanet Discovery
An unusual approach to spotting tiny asteroids uses James Webb Space Telescope data in a boost for planetary defense research
How to Watch the Geminid Meteor Shower This Weekend
The peak of this popular annual meteor shower risks being washed out by an almost full moon this year—but stargazers can still spot shooting stars if they follow the right tips
The Ten Best Science Books of 2024
From a deep dive on a fatal space shuttle disaster to a study of a dozen iconic trees, these are our favorite titles this year
Earth Bids Goodbye to Its ‘Mini-Moon’ as Astronomers Investigate Where Our Planet’s Asteroid Companion Came From
Preliminary research suggests asteroid 2024 PT5, which stuck around Earth for almost two months, has lunar origins
A Giant Meteorite Ripped Up the Seafloor and Boiled Earth’s Oceans 3.26 Billion Years Ago. Then, Life Blossomed in Its Wake
Geologists suggest the catastrophic impact of “S2” delivered key nutrients to the oceans, prompting microorganisms to thrive
Astronomers Uncover the Origin of Most of Earth’s Meteorites, Shedding Light on Our Solar System’s Past
Prior to the new research, scientists had traced the source of just 6 percent of the known meteorites that fell on our planet
Ants Farmed Fungi in the Wake of Dinosaurs’ Demise 66 Million Years Ago
A new study from Smithsonian scientists analyzes ant and fungus species, and uncovers the origins of their close partnership
Earth Is Getting a New ‘Mini Moon’ for the Next Two Months, Astronomers Say
A roughly 33-foot-long asteroid called 2024 PT5 will chart a horseshoe-like path around our planet
Did Earth Once Have a Ring Like Saturn? Geologists Find Evidence for a Halo of Orbiting Space Rocks 466 Million Years Ago
A ring could explain a mysterious arrangement of impact craters near the equator and might even have caused an ice age, according to a new study
An Ancient Asteroid Smashed Into Jupiter’s Moon Ganymede and Tipped It Over, Study Finds
The cataclysmic impactor was 20 times the size of the rock that wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth
Asteroid That Ended the Dinosaurs Came From Beyond Jupiter, Study Finds
Metal isotopes delivered to Earth by the asteroid reveal it’s consistent with space rocks formed in the outer solar system
NASA Retires Orbiting Telescope That Charted Asteroids for Over a Decade
NEOWISE, which looked for potentially hazardous objects in the solar system, received its last command on Thursday and will burn up when it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere
Inside Scientists’ Quest to Find the Secrets of Life in Four Grams of Asteroid Dust
NASA researchers are scrutinizing rocks and dirt brought to Earth from the asteroid Bennu
Page 1 of 8