Asteroids, Comets and Meteors News

Friday, March 6, 2015

Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

NASA Spacecraft Becomes First to Orbit a Dwarf Planet

Mar. 6, 2015 — NASA's Dawn spacecraft has become the first mission to achieve orbit around a dwarf planet. The spacecraft was approximately 38,000 miles (61,000) kilometers from Ceres when it was captured by the ... full story

Space Missions; NASA; Space Exploration; Space Probes

Mars: The Planet That Lost an Ocean's Worth of Water

Mar. 5, 2015 — A primitive ocean on Mars held more water than Earth's Arctic Ocean, and covered a greater portion of the planet's surface than the Atlantic Ocean does on Earth, according to new results published ... full story

Mars; Space Exploration; NASA; Space Missions

Rapid Changes Observed in a Comet’s Plasma Tail

Mar. 5, 2015 — Images from a December 2013 observation of the comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) reveal clear details about rapidly changing activity in that comet's plasma tail. Astronomers zoomed in to within 0.8 million ... full story

Asteroids, Comets and Meteors; Astronomy; Solar Flare; Sun

Cloudy, With a Wisp of Liquid Rock: Clouds Around Exoplanets Analyzed

Mar. 3, 2015 — Meteorologists sometimes struggle to accurately predict the weather here on Earth, but now we can find out how cloudy it is on planets outside our solar system, thanks to new ... full story

Extrasolar Planets; Astronomy; Stars; Pluto

Core Work: Iron Vapor Gives Clues to Formation of Earth and Moon

Mar. 2, 2015 — One of the world's most powerful radiation sources provides scientists clues about Earth's formation and how iron ... full story

Geology; Earth Science; Asteroids, Comets and Meteors; Near-Earth Object Impacts

NASA Spacecraft Nears Historic Dwarf Planet Arrival

Mar. 2, 2015 — NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned new images captured on approach to its historic orbit insertion at the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn will be the first mission to successfully visit a dwarf planet when ... full story

Space Missions; NASA; Space Exploration; Solar System

Life 'Not as We Know It' Possible on Saturn's Moon Titan

Feb. 27, 2015 — A new type of methane-based, oxygen-free life form that can metabolize and reproduce similar to life on Earth has been modeled. It is theorized to have a cell membrane, composed of small organic ... full story

Saturn; Molecular Biology; Cell Biology; Genetics

'Bright Spot' on Ceres Has Dimmer Companion

Feb. 25, 2015 — Dwarf planet Ceres continues to puzzle scientists as NASA's Dawn spacecraft gets closer to being captured into orbit around the object. The latest images from Dawn, taken nearly 29,000 miles (46,000 ... full story

Space Missions; NASA; Space Exploration; Solar System

SOHO Sees Something New Near the Sun: Comet Survives Close Encounter

Feb. 24, 2015 — An unusual comet skimmed past the sun on Feb 18-21, 2015, as captured by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or ... full story

Asteroids, Comets and Meteors; Sun; Astronomy; Solar Flare

Scientists Identify Mineral That Destroys Organic Compounds, With Implications for Mars Curiosity Mission

Feb. 19, 2015 — Scientists have discovered that the mineral jarosite breaks down organic compounds when it is flash-heated, with implications for Mars research. Jarosite is an iron sulphate and it is one of several ... full story

Mars; Space Missions; NASA; Solar System

Featured Videos

from AP, Reuters, AFP, and other news services

NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Spots Two Bright Points On Ceres

Newsy (Feb. 26, 2015) — NASA scientists still don't have a clear picture of the bright spots showing up on the surface of Ceres, a minor planet in the asteroid belt. Video provided by Newsy

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'Black Beauty' Meteorite Reveals Secrets Of Mars' Surface

Newsy (Feb. 2, 2015) — The 4.4 billion-year-old meteorite is like nothing ever discovered on Earth and gives researchers insight into the makeup of the Red Planet's surface. Video provided by Newsy

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Asteroid's Moon Spotted During Earth Flyby

Rumble (Jan. 27, 2015) — Scientists working with NASA's Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, California discovered an unexpected moon while observing asteroid 2004 BL86 during its recent flyby past Earth. Credit to 'NASA JPL'. Video provided by Rumble

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Disc-Shaped Object Over Memphis TN, USA

Rumble (Jan. 19, 2015) — An apparent disc-shaped UFO was recently spotted over Memphis, Tennessee. What do you think of it? The work of editing, or an unexplained object? Share your thoughts! Video provided by Rumble

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All Asteroids, Comets and Meteors News

last updated on 2015-03-06 at 11:25 pm EST

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Aviation;
NASA;
Vehicles;
Space Exploration

Orion's Launch Abort System Motor Exceeds Expectations

Mar. 6, 2015 — It took just three seconds for the attitude control motor of NASA's Orion Launch Abort System (LAS) to prove that its material can survive not only the intense temperatures, pressures, noise and ... full story
Space Missions;
NASA;
Space Exploration;
Space Probes

NASA Spacecraft Becomes First to Orbit a Dwarf Planet

Mar. 6, 2015 — NASA's Dawn spacecraft has become the first mission to achieve orbit around a dwarf planet. The spacecraft was approximately 38,000 miles (61,000) kilometers from Ceres when it was captured by ... full story
Mars;
Space Exploration;
NASA;
Space Missions

Mars: The Planet That Lost an Ocean's Worth of Water

Mar. 5, 2015 — A primitive ocean on Mars held more water than Earth's Arctic Ocean, and covered a greater portion of the planet's surface than the Atlantic Ocean does on Earth, according to new results ... full story
Asteroids, Comets and Meteors;
Astronomy;
Solar Flare;
Sun

Rapid Changes Observed in a Comet’s Plasma Tail

Mar. 5, 2015 — Images from a December 2013 observation of the comet C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) reveal clear details about rapidly changing activity in that comet's plasma tail. Astronomers zoomed in to within 0.8 ... full story
Extrasolar Planets;
Astronomy;
Stars;
Pluto

Cloudy, With a Wisp of Liquid Rock: Clouds Around Exoplanets Analyzed

Mar. 3, 2015 — Meteorologists sometimes struggle to accurately predict the weather here on Earth, but now we can find out how cloudy it is on planets outside our solar system, thanks to new ... full story
Geology;
Earth Science;
Asteroids, Comets and Meteors;
Near-Earth Object Impacts

Core Work: Iron Vapor Gives Clues to Formation of Earth and Moon

Mar. 2, 2015 — One of the world's most powerful radiation sources provides scientists clues about Earth's formation and how iron ... full story
Space Missions;
NASA;
Space Exploration;
Solar System

NASA Spacecraft Nears Historic Dwarf Planet Arrival

Mar. 2, 2015 — NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned new images captured on approach to its historic orbit insertion at the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn will be the first mission to successfully visit a dwarf planet ... full story
Saturn;
Molecular Biology;
Cell Biology;
Genetics

Life 'Not as We Know It' Possible on Saturn's Moon Titan

Feb. 27, 2015 — A new type of methane-based, oxygen-free life form that can metabolize and reproduce similar to life on Earth has been modeled. It is theorized to have a cell membrane, composed of small organic ... full story
Space Probes;
Space Missions;
Space Exploration;
NASA

OSIRIS-REx Mission Successfully Completes System Integration Review

Feb. 27, 2015 — This week marked the completion of an important step on the path to spacecraft assembly, test, and launch operations for the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith ... full story
NASA;
Space Exploration;
Space Missions;
Space Station

New NASA Earth Missions Expand View of Home Planet

Feb. 26, 2015 — Four new NASA Earth-observing missions are collecting data from space -- with a fifth newly in orbit -- after the busiest year of NASA Earth science launches in more than a ... full story
Space Missions;
NASA;
Space Exploration;
Solar System

'Bright Spot' on Ceres Has Dimmer Companion

Feb. 25, 2015 — Dwarf planet Ceres continues to puzzle scientists as NASA's Dawn spacecraft gets closer to being captured into orbit around the object. The latest images from Dawn, taken nearly 29,000 miles ... full story
Asteroids, Comets and Meteors;
Sun;
Astronomy;
Solar Flare

SOHO Sees Something New Near the Sun: Comet Survives Close Encounter

Feb. 24, 2015 — An unusual comet skimmed past the sun on Feb 18-21, 2015, as captured by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or ... full story
Mars;
Space Missions;
NASA;
Solar System

Scientists Identify Mineral That Destroys Organic Compounds, With Implications for Mars Curiosity Mission

Feb. 19, 2015 — Scientists have discovered that the mineral jarosite breaks down organic compounds when it is flash-heated, with implications for Mars research. Jarosite is an iron sulphate and it is one of several ... full story
Space Telescopes;
Extrasolar Planets;
Astronomy;
Galaxies

Hubble Gets Best View of a Circumstellar Debris Disk Distorted by a Planet

Feb. 19, 2015 — Astronomers have used the Hubble Space Telescope to take the most detailed picture to date of a large, edge-on, gas-and-dust disk encircling the 20-million-year-old star Beta Pictoris. The new image ... full story
Sun;
Solar Flare;
Astronomy;
Northern Lights

A New View of the Solar System: Astrophysical Jets Driven by the Sun

Feb. 19, 2015 — New research suggests that the sun's magnetic field controls the large-scale shape of the heliosphere much more than expected. The new model shows that the magnetic field squeezes the solar wind ... full story
Dark Matter;
Geology;
Earth Science;
Asteroids, Comets and Meteors

Does Dark Matter Cause Mass Extinctions and Geologic Upheavals?

Feb. 19, 2015 — New research concludes that Earth's infrequent but predictable path around and through our Galaxy's disc may have a direct and significant effect on geological and biological phenomena ... full story
Atmosphere;
Geomagnetic Storms;
Sun;
Cosmic Rays

For the First Time, Spacecraft Catch Solar Shockwave in the Act: 'Ultrarelativistic, Killer Electrons' Made in 60 Seconds

Feb. 18, 2015 — On Oct. 8, 2013, an explosion on the sun's surface sent a supersonic blast wave of solar wind out into space. This shockwave tore past Mercury and Venus, blitzing by the moon before streaming ... full story
Extrasolar Planets;
Astronomy;
Kuiper Belt;
Jupiter

Dust to Dust: Disintegrating Rocky Exoplanet Could Unlock Secrets to How Our Solar System Was Formed

Feb. 18, 2015 — Exciting new research has opened up the chance to find out what distant planets are made of. A team of astronomers have made observations which can help reveal the chemical makeup of a small rocky ... full story
Stars;
Galaxies;
Extrasolar Planets;
Eris (Xena)

The Strange Case of the Missing Dwarf

Feb. 18, 2015 — The new SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope has been used to search for a brown dwarf expected to be orbiting the unusual double star V471 Tauri. SPHERE has given astronomers the ... full story
Stars;
Extrasolar Planets;
Astronomy;
Black Holes

Closest Known Flyby of Star to Our Solar System: Dim Star Passed Through Oort Cloud 70,000 Years Ago

Feb. 17, 2015 — Astronomers from the US, Europe, Chile and South Africa have determined that 70,000 years ago a recently discovered dim star is likely to have passed through the solar system's distant cloud of ... full story