http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/near-earth_object_impacts/ Near-Earth Objects. Near Earth Asteroids. Meteorites have impacted planet Earth many times. Scientists review the geological records and make predictions of risks of near Earth object impacts. en-us Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:05:01 EST Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/near-earth_object_impacts/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201142402.htm A potent follow-up solar flare, which occurred Jan. 17, 2012, just days after the Sun launched the biggest coronal mass ejection seen in nearly a decade, delivered a powerful radiation punch to Earth's magnetic field despite the fact that it was aimed away from our planet. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:24:24 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201142402.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123152516.htm In California's Death Valley, death is looking just a bit closer. Geologists have determined that the half-mile-wide Ubehebe Crater, formed by a prehistoric volcanic explosion, was created far more recently than previously thought -- and that conditions for a sequel may exist today. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:25:25 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120123152516.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215135929.htm A team of scientists from Oregon has collected microbes from ice within a lava tube in the Cascade Mountains and found that they thrive in cold, Mars-like conditions. They have characteristics that would make the microbes capable of living in the subsurface of Mars and other planetary bodies. Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:59:59 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215135929.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111101134315.htm An asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier will fly near Earth on Nov. 8, 2011. While there is no danger of it hitting the planet, an asteroid impact expert says a similar-sized object hitting Earth would result in a 4,000-megaton blast, magnitude 7.0 earthquake and, should it strike in the deep ocean, 70-foot-high tsunami waves 60 miles from the splashdown site. Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:43:43 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111101134315.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111019173406.htm Seeking to better understand the level of death and destruction that would result from a large meteorite striking Earth, researchers have developed a new model that can not only more accurately simulate the seismic fallout of such an impact, but also help reveal new information about the surface and interior of planets based on past collisions. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:34:34 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111019173406.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111018095124.htm Volcanologists have forensically reconstructed the impact of a meteorite on Earth and how debris was hurled from the crater to devastate the surrounding region. Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:51:51 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111018095124.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005145549.htm Astronomers have found a new cosmic source for the same kind of water that appeared on Earth billions of years ago and created the oceans. The findings may help explain how Earth's surface ended up covered in water. Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:55:55 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005145549.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005131654.htm New evidence supports the theory that comets delivered a significant portion of Earth's oceans, which scientists believe formed about eight million years after the planet itself. Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111005131654.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110926095335.htm An international team of scientists has provided new insights into the processes behind the evolution of the planet by demonstrating how salty water and gases transfer from the atmosphere into the Earth's interior. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 09:53:53 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110926095335.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919144042.htm Observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission indicate the family of asteroids some believed was responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs is not likely the culprit, keeping open the case on one of Earth's greatest mysteries. Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:40:40 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110919144042.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915183045.htm A meteor is the most probable cause of a bright, colorful fireball witnessed by people in a wide swath of the southwestern United States, according to NASA. Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:30:30 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915183045.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907132044.htm Ultra high precision analyses of some of the oldest rock samples on Earth provides clear evidence that the planet's accessible reserves of precious metals are the result of a bombardment of meteorites more than 200 million years after Earth was formed. Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:20:20 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907132044.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110825141625.htm Researchers got their first up-close look at dust from the surface of a small, stony asteroid after the Hayabusa spacecraft scooped some up and brought it back to Earth. Analysis of these dust particles confirms a long-standing suspicion: that the most common meteorites found here on Earth, known as ordinary chondrites, are born from these stony, or S-type, asteroids. Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110825141625.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110817135349.htm Earth's Moon could be younger than previously thought. The prevailing theory of our Moon's origin is that it was created by a giant impact between a large planet-like object and the proto-Earth. The Moon formed from melted material that was ejected into space. Analysis of lunar rock samples thought to have been derived from the original magma has given scientists a new estimate of the Moon's age. Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:53:53 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110817135349.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110801094258.htm Is Earth more likely or less likely to be hit by an asteroid or comet now as compared to, say, 20 million years ago? Several studies have claimed to have found periodic variations, with the probability of giant impacts increasing and decreasing in a regular pattern. Now a new analysis shows those simple periodic patterns to be statistical artifacts. The results indicate either that Earth is as likely to suffer a major impact now as it was in the past, or that there has been a slight increase impact rate events over the past 250 million years. Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:42:42 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110801094258.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110727170226.htm Astronomers studying observations taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission have discovered the first known "Trojan" asteroid orbiting the sun along with Earth. Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:02:02 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110727170226.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110715135156.htm A new study examines the orbital evolution of minor planets Ceres and Vesta, a few days before the flyby of Vesta by the Dawn spacecraft. A team of astronomers found that close encounters among these bodies lead to strong chaotic behavior of their orbits, as well as of Earth's eccentricity. This means, in particular, that Earth's past orbit cannot be reconstructed beyond 60 million years. Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:51:51 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110715135156.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110711104755.htm Scientists have discovered previously unknown volcanoes in the ocean waters around the remote South Sandwich Islands. Using ship-borne sea-floor mapping technology during research cruises onboard the RRS James Clark Ross, the scientists found 12 volcanoes beneath the sea surface -- some up to 3 km high. They found 5 km diameter craters left by collapsing volcanoes and seven active volcanoes visible above the sea as a chain of islands. Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:47:47 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110711104755.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110609174852.htm Some asteroids may have been like "molecular factories" cranking out life's ingredients and shipping them to Earth via meteorite impacts, according to scientists who've made discoveries of molecules essential for life in material from certain kinds of asteroids and comets. Now it appears that at least one may have been less like a rigid assembly line and more like a flexible diner that doesn't mind making changes to the menu. Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:48:48 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110609174852.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110609141548.htm Carbonaceous chondrites are organic-rich meteorites that contain samples of the materials that took part in the creation of our planets nearly 4.6 billion years ago. The complex suite of organic materials found in carbonaceous chondrites can vary substantially. New research shows that most of these variations are the result of hydrothermal activity that took place within a few million years of the solar system's formation, when the meteorites were still part of larger bodies. Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:15:15 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110609141548.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110526141400.htm The moon has much more water than previously thought, a scientific team has discovered. First-time measurements of lunar melt inclusions show that some parts of the lunar mantle have as much water as the Earth's upper mantle. The results may change the prevailing theory about the Moon's origin as well as shed new light on the origin of water at the lunar poles. Results appear in Science Express. Thu, 26 May 2011 14:14:14 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110526141400.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110405151612.htm Researchers have found a new mineral named "Wassonite" in one of the most historically significant meteorites recovered in Antarctica in December 1969. Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110405151612.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110327191159.htm The earliest rocks in our solar system were more like cotton candy than the hard rock that we know today, according to new research. Sun, 27 Mar 2011 19:11:11 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110327191159.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110302091646.htm An important discovery has been made with respect to the possible inventory of molecules available to early Earth. Scientists found large amounts of ammonia in a primitive Antarctic asteroid. This high concentration of ammonia could account for a sustained source of reduced nitrogen essential to the chemistry of life. Wed, 02 Mar 2011 09:16:16 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110302091646.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110301202427.htm Researchers have used magnesium isotopes to determine the temperature at which rocks form, which will allow scientists to better study the formation of Earth's crust and mantle as well as the formation of meteorites. Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:24:24 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110301202427.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110224145605.htm Early in the formation of Earth, some forms of the element chromium separated and disappeared deep into the planet's core, a new study shows. Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:56:56 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110224145605.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110202072212.htm Exactly a century after the first discovery of a rare meteorite sample, a research team has used it to reveal new insights into water on the red planet. Rare fragments of Martian meteorites have been investigated, revealing one of the ways water flowed near the surface of Mars. Wed, 02 Feb 2011 07:22:22 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110202072212.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110119100204.htm A wider range of asteroids were capable of creating the kind of amino acids used by life on Earth, according to new NASA research. Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:02:02 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110119100204.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101209141130.htm New research reveals that the abundance of so-called highly siderophile, or metal-loving, elements like gold and platinum found in the mantles of Earth, the moon and Mars were delivered by massive impactors during the final phase of planet formation over 4.5 billion years ago. The predicted sizes of the projectiles, which hit within tens of millions of years of the giant impact that produced our moon, are consistent with current planet formation models. They predict that the largest of the late impactors on Earth -- at 1,500 to 2,000 miles in diameter -- potentially modified Earth's obliquity by approximately 10 degrees, while those for the Moon, at approximately 150-200 miles, may have delivered water to its mantle. Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:11:11 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101209141130.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100923081902.htm A 2008 Google Earth search led to the discovery of Kamil crater, one of the best-preserved meteorite impact sites ever found. Earlier this year, a gritty, sand-blown expedition reached the site deep in the Egyptian desert to collect iron debris and determine the crater's age and origins. Thu, 23 Sep 2010 08:19:19 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100923081902.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100727082656.htm The potentially hazardous asteroid ‘(101955) 1999 RQ36’ has a one-in-a-thousand chance of impacting the Earth, and more than half of this probability indicates that this could happen in the year 2182, according to a new study. Knowing this fact may help design in advance mechanisms aimed at deviating the asteroid’s path. Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:26:26 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100727082656.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100525090331.htm Scientists are analyzing one of the most Mars-like places on Earth -- Chott el Jerid in South West Tunisia -- in preparation for future missions to the Red Planet. Tue, 25 May 2010 09:03:03 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100525090331.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100513143457.htm Tiny variations in the isotopic composition of silver in meteorites and Earth rocks are helping scientists put together a timetable of how our planet was assembled beginning 4.568 billion years ago. The new study indicates that water and other key volatiles may have been present in at least some of Earth's original building blocks, rather than acquired later from comets, as some scientists have suggested. Thu, 13 May 2010 14:34:34 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100513143457.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100428153258.htm The first-ever discovery of ice and organic molecules on an asteroid may hold clues to the origins of Earth's oceans and life 4 billion years ago. Researchers suggest that an asteroid like this one may have hit Earth and brought our planet its water. The discovery is unexpected because asteroids this close to the sun are expected to be too warm for ice to survive for long. Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:32:32 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100428153258.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100428142302.htm Researchers have found evidence of water ice and organic material on the asteroid 24 Themis. This evidence supports the idea that asteroids could be responsible for bringing water and organic material to Earth. Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:23:23 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100428142302.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100415185809.htm The eerie glow that straddles the night time zodiac in the eastern sky is no longer a mystery. First explained by Joshua Childrey in 1661 as sunlight scattered in our direction by dust particles in the solar system, the source of that dust was long debated. David Nesvorny and Peter Jenniskens put the stake in asteroids. More than 85 percent of the dust, they conclude, originated from Jupiter Family comets, not asteroids. Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:58:58 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100415185809.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100401101527.htm Some 13,000 years ago, Earth was struck by thousands of Tunguska-sized cometary fragments over the course of an hour, leading to a dramatic cooling of the planet, according to a new astronomical model. Thu, 01 Apr 2010 10:15:15 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100401101527.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100326124654.htm Long-term climate fluctuations were probably the main reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs and other creatures 65 million years ago, according to new research from a German paleontologist. The results challenge the almost 30-year-old theory that a meteorite impact at the Mexican Yucatan peninsula was the single cause for one of the five largest mass extinctions in Earth history. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:46:46 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100326124654.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304142242.htm The Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction, which wiped out the dinosaurs and more than half of species on Earth, was caused by an asteroid colliding with Earth and not massive volcanic activity, according to a comprehensive review of all the available evidence. Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:22:22 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304142242.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302084522.htm The Feb. 27 magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile may have shortened the length of each Earth day. NASA scientists came up with a preliminary calculation that the quake should have shortened the length of an Earth day by about 1.26 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second). Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:45:45 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302084522.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100120131149.htm For decades, astronomers have analyzed the impact that asteroids could have on Earth. New research examines the opposite scenario: that Earth has considerable influence on asteroids -- and from a distance much larger than previously thought. The finding helps answer an elusive, decades-long question about where most meteorites come from before they fall to Earth and also opens the door to a new field study of asteroid seismology. Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:11:11 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100120131149.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100114153004.htm On Nov. 13, the European Space Agency's comet orbiter spacecraft, Rosetta, swooped by Earth for its third and final gravity assist on the way to humankind's first rendezvous to orbit and study a comet in more detail than has ever been attempted. One of the instruments aboard Rosetta is the NASA-funded ultraviolet spectrometer, Alice, which is designed to probe the composition of the comet's atmosphere and surface -- the first ultraviolet spectrometer ever to study a comet up close. Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:30:30 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100114153004.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214075217.htm New research shows a potential signature of nitrate and ammonia that can be found in ice cores corresponding to suspected impacts. Although high nitrate levels previously have been tied to space impacts, scientists have never before seen atmospheric ammonia spikes as indicators of space impacts with our planet. Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:52:52 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214075217.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091210153538.htm The gases which formed the Earth's atmosphere -- and probably its oceans -- did not come from inside the Earth but from outer space, according to a new study. Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:35:35 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091210153538.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111142518.htm Scientists have developed a more definitive and reliable tool for measuring the Sun's rotation when sunspots aren't visible ---- and even when they are -- based on observations of common lightning strikes on Earth. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:25:25 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111142518.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091018141608.htm According to a new study by geologists, the wealth of some minerals that lie in the rock beneath the Earth's surface may be extraterrestrial in origin. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091018141608.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015102246.htm A mysterious basin off the coast of India could be the largest, multi-ringed impact crater the world has ever seen. And if a new study is right, it may have been responsible for killing the dinosaurs off 65 million years ago. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:22:22 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015102246.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007124411.htm Astronomers in Canada have released footage of a meteor that was approximately 100 times brighter than a full moon. The meteor lit up the skies of southern Ontario two weeks ago and Western astronomers are now hoping to enlist the help of local residents in recovering one or more possible meteorites that may have crashed in the area of Grimsby, Ontario. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:44:44 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007124411.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917144123.htm Researchers have discovered an unusual kind of meteorite in the Western Australian desert and have uncovered where in the Solar System it came from, in a very rare finding. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:41:41 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917144123.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806091014.htm NASA's LCROSS spacecraft has successfully completed its first Earth-look calibration of its science payload. During the Earth observations, the spacecraft's spectrometers were able to detect the signatures of the Earth's water, ozone, methane, oxygen, carbon dioxide and possibly vegetation. Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:10:10 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090806091014.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090731085813.htm A research program aimed at using platinum as an exploration guide for nickel has for the first time been able to put a time scale on the planet's large-scale convection processes. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:58:58 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090731085813.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090601085930.htm Large bombardments of meteoroids approximately four billion years ago could have helped to make the early Earth and Mars more habitable for life by modifying their atmospheres, suggests a new article. Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:59:59 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090601085930.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090522081425.htm Scientists have studied the El'gygytgyn meteorite impact crater in Arctic Siberia. They found, from analyses of the drill cores, new information about the formation of the impact crater, as well as information they can use more fully to understand the climate history of the Arctic. Fri, 22 May 2009 08:14:14 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090522081425.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520140403.htm The bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by asteroids as large as Kansas would not have had the firepower to extinguish potential early life on the planet and may even have given it a boost, according to a new study. Wed, 20 May 2009 14:04:04 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520140403.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505072948.htm Nearly all meteorite impact craters on Earth are circular. Elongated crater structures are expected only at impacts at angles lower than 12 degrees from the horizontal. Geologists document the first elliptical crater on Earth that provides insights into the mechanisms of crater formation at low angles. Tue, 05 May 2009 07:29:29 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505072948.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429091637.htm A geologist and tsunami expert debunks persistent idea that so-called "chevrons," large U- or V-shaped formations found in some of the world's coastal areas, are evidence of megatsunamis caused by asteroids or comets slamming into the ocean. Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429091637.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090427010803.htm The enduringly popular theory that the Chicxulub crater holds the clue to the demise of the dinosaurs, along with some 65 percent of all species 65 million years ago, is challenged in a new article. A impact didn't lead to mass extinction 65 million years ago, geologists find. Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:08:08 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090427010803.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409104134.htm Thirty-four-million years ago, Earth changed profoundly. What happened, and how were Earth's animals, plants, oceans, and climate affected? Focusing on the end of the Eocene epoch and the Eocene-Oligocene transition was a critical but very brief interval in Earth's history. Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:41:41 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090409104134.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090317153047.htm NASA scientists analyzing the dust of meteorites have discovered new clues to a long-standing mystery about how life works on its most basic, molecular level. Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:30:30 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090317153047.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090107134526.htm Asteroids are hunks of rock that orbit in the outer reaches of space, and scientists have generally assumed that their small size limited the types of rock that could form in their crusts. But two newly discovered meteorites may rewrite the book on how some asteroids form and evolve. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:45:45 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090107134526.htm