http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/asteroids,_comets_and_meteors/ Asteroids, Comets, Meteors and Meteorites. See amazing images and read the latest astronomy articles on the asteroid belt, comets and more. What is the risk of asteroid impact? en-us Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:05:01 EST Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/asteroids,_comets_and_meteors/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123185639.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft is helping to rewrite our understanding of the shape of our solar system as it moves through the local Milky Way galaxy. Previous models pictured our solar system as having a comet-like appearance. The new results suggest a picture more like a bubble. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123185639.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094122.htm Scientists have used an innovative computer program to produce a more detailed global map of Mars' valley networks. It shows the networks are much more extensive than had been previously depicted. Regions that are most densely dissected by the valley networks roughly form a belt around the planet, consistent with a past climate scenario that included precipitation and the presence of an ocean covering a large portion of Mars' northern hemisphere. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094122.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102112048.htm Solar wind generated by the sun is probably driven by a process involving powerful magnetic fields, according to a new study led by researchers based on the latest observations from the Hinode satellite. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102112048.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. Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111142518.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091113101417.htm This morning, mission controllers confirmed that ESA's comet chaser Rosetta had swung by Earth at 8:45 CET as planned, skimming past our planet to pick up a gravitational boost for an epic journey to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091113101417.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091113122530.htm The argument that the moon is a dry, desolate place no longer holds water. Preliminary data from the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates that the mission successfully uncovered water during the Oct. 9, 2009 impacts into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus cater near the moon's south pole. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091113122530.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112103425.htm When Europe's comet chaser Rosetta swings by Earth on Nov. 13 for a critical gravity assist, tracking data will be collected to precisely measure the satellite's change in orbital energy. The results could help unravel a cosmic mystery that has stumped scientists for two decades. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112103425.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110173330.htm A newly discovered asteroid designated 2009 VA, which is only about 7 meters in size, passed about 2 Earth radii (14,000 km) from Earth's surface Nov. 6 at around 16:30 EST. This is the third-closest known (non-impacting) Earth approach on record for a cataloged asteroid. Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110173330.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111110045.htm Contrary to preconceived notions, the atmosphere and the oceans were perhaps not formed from vapors emitted during intense volcanism at the dawning of our planet. Scientists now suggest that water was not part of the Earth's initial inventory but stems from the turbulence caused in the outer solar system by giant planets. Ice-covered asteroids thus reached the Earth around one hundred million years after the birth of the planets. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111110045.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102110228.htm A new image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows channels to the southeast of Hale crater on southern Mars. Taken by the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, this view covers an area about 3 kilometers (2 miles) wide. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102110228.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091108214924.htm Before our planets found their way to the stable orbits they circle in today, they wiggled and jostled about like unsettled children. Now, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found a young star with evidence for the same kind of orbital hyperactivity. Young planets circling the star are thought to be disturbing smaller comet-like bodies, causing them to collide and kick up a huge halo of dust. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091108214924.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132808.htm Evidence for a thin veil of carbon has been found on the neutron star in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. This discovery resolves a ten-year mystery surrounding this object. In Earth's time frame, the estimated age of the neutron star in Cas A is only several hundred years, making it about ten times younger than other neutron stars with detected surface emission. Therefore, the Cas A neutron star gives a unique window into the early life of a cooling neutron star. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132808.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171724.htm Dust samples collected from the stratosphere have yielded an unexpectedly rich trove of relics from the ancient cosmos, scientists report. The dust includes presolar grains and material from interstellar molecular clouds. This "ultra-primitive" material likely wafted into the atmosphere after the Earth passed through the trail of an Earth-crossing comet in 2003, giving scientists a rare opportunity to study cometary dust in the laboratory. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171724.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091012100514.htm New tools and systems developed by European researchers are helping astronomers access data centres from anywhere in the world. From charting new stars to finding new meaning in old stellar objects, the result will be virtual observatories with very real impact. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091012100514.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029134342.htm Many of us have been rescued from unfamiliar territory by directions from a Global Positioning System navigator. GPS satellites send signals to a receiver in your GPS navigator, which calculates your position based on the location of the satellites and your distance from them. The distance is determined by how long it took the signals from various satellites to reach your receiver. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029134342.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111907.htm A new European Earth observation satellite will be launched in the early hours of Monday November 2 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The European Space Agency Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite will measure moisture levels in the Earth's soils and the saltiness of the world's oceans from space for the very first time. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111907.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924123310.htm During flights simulating the moon's low gravity, researchers find that sifters can separate soil particles and produce the best feedstock for an oxygen generator. Scientists are designing and testing components of the generator, which would provide oxygen needed for a lunar or Martian outpost. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924123310.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163519.htm As Saturn's rings orbit the planet, a section is typically in the planet's shadow, experiencing a brief night lasting from 6 to 14 hours. However, once approximately every 15 years, night falls over the entire visible ring system for about four days. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163519.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021142925.htm Peering far beyond our solar system, NASA researchers have detected the basic chemistry for life in a second hot gas planet, advancing astronomers toward the goal of being able to characterize planets where life could exist. The planet is not habitable but it has the same chemistry that, if found around a rocky planet in the future, could indicate the presence of life. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021142925.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020122532.htm ESA's Rosetta comet chaser will swing by Earth on Nov. 13 to pick up orbital energy and begin the final leg of its 10-year journey to the outer Solar System. Several observations of the Earth-moon system are planned before the spacecraft heads out to study comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020122532.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. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091018141608.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016101807.htm The solar system, as defined by the heliosphere, the region of the sun's influence, may have a quite different shape than scientists had thought. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016101807.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016094030.htm Direct communication between Earth and Mars can be strongly disturbed and even blocked by the Sun for weeks at a time, cutting off any future human mission to the Red Planet. An European Space Agency engineer working with engineers in the UK may have found a solution using a new type of orbit combined with continuous-thrust ion propulsion. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016094030.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091013110050.htm Pallas is in the gray area between a small asteroid and a planet, researchers report. Pallas lies in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars and is about the size of Arizona. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091013110050.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008161908.htm At 7:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 9, a two-ton rocket body will slam into a crater near the moon's south pole. By studying the resulting plume of gas and dust, scientists hope this grand experiment will confirm the presence of ice in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles. A NASA Goddard Space Flight Center visualization team previewed the lunar impact. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008161908.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. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007124411.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007171926.htm Using updated information, NASA scientists have recalculated the path of a large asteroid. The refined path indicates a significantly reduced likelihood of a hazardous encounter with Earth in 2036. Initially, Apophis was thought to have a 2.7 percent chance of impacting Earth in 2029. Additional observations of the asteriod ruled out any possibility of an impact in 2029. However, the asteroid is expected to make a record-setting -- but harmless -- close approach to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029, when it comes no closer than 29,450 kilometers (18,300 miles) above Earth's surface. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007171926.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006205610.htm NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered an enormous ring around Saturn -- by far the largest of the giant planet's many rings. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006205610.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006113003.htm Crashing a rocket into the Moon will create “one more dimple” on the lunar surface and could find water ice on Earth’s nearest neighbour, according to one expert. Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006113003.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928194449.htm NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is testing a new robotic lunar lander test bed that will aid in the development of a new generation of multi-use landers for future robotic space exploration. Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928194449.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090927140838.htm NASA's Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft known as MESSENGER will fly by Mercury for the third and final time on Sept. 29. The spacecraft will pass less than 142 miles above the planet's rocky surface for a final gravity assist that will enable it to enter Mercury's orbit in 2011. Determining the composition of Mercury's surface is a major goal of the orbital phase of the mission. The spacecraft already has imaged more than 90 percent of the planet's surface. The spacecraft's team will activate instruments during this flyby to view specific features to uncover more information about the planet. Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090927140838.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928172534.htm This summer, astronomers in Florida inaugurated the world's largest optical telescope on a nearly 8,000-foot mountaintop 3,480 miles away. Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928172534.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090925102055.htm The European Space Agency's SMART-1 team has released an image of the future impact site of NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). LCROSS will search for water ice on the Moon by making two impacts into a crater named Cabeus A at the lunar South Pole. The impacts are scheduled for 11:30 and 11:34 am UT on 9 October 2009. Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090925102055.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916092538.htm A dark red area discovered on the dwarf planet Haumea appears to be richer in minerals and organic compounds than the surrounding icy surface. Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916092538.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924143506.htm NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed frozen water hiding just below the surface of mid-latitude Mars. The spacecraft's observations were obtained from orbit after meteorites excavated fresh craters on the Red Planet. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924143506.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924163528.htm Astronomers using the twin 10-meter telescopes at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii have explored one of the most compact dust disks ever resolved around another star. If placed in our own solar system, the disk would span about four times Earth's distance from the sun, reaching nearly to Jupiter's orbit. The compact inner disk is accompanied by an outer disk that extends hundreds of times farther. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090924163528.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923142121.htm Astronomers have witnessed odd behavior around a young star. Something, perhaps another star or a planet, appears to be pushing a clump of planet-forming material around. The observations, made with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, offer a rare look into the early stages of planet formation. Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923142121.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923112547.htm A NASA team is developing a transparent coating that mimics the self-cleaning properties of the lotus plant to prevent dirt from sticking to the surfaces of spaceflight gear and bacteria from growing inside astronaut living quarters. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923112547.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090918153115.htm A combination of small satellites can, with innovative methods, use the signals of the navigation satellite systems GPS and Galileo to significantly improve remote sensing of Earth. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090918153115.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921175008.htm What's about the size of a large refrigerator, weighs a ton and may help pave the way for new and improved metals or glasses here on Earth? It's the Materials Science Research Rack -- a new laboratory on board the International Space Station. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921175008.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917131548.htm NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on June 18 of this year, has begun its extensive exploration of the lunar environment and will return more data about the Moon than any previous mission. The Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project is an integral part of the LRO science investigation. LAMP uses a novel method to peer into the perpetual darkness of the Moon's so-called permanently shadowed regions. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917131548.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090918101720.htm Scientists at a new interdisciplinary research institute in Austria are working to uncover how life might evolve with “exotic” biochemistry and solvents, such as sulphuric acid instead of water. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090918101720.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090914111821.htm Scientists using the Cassini spacecraft's Magnetospheric Imaging instrument (MIMI) have detected a new, temporary radiation belt at Saturn, located around the orbit of its moon Dione at about 377,000 km from the center of the planet. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090914111821.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. Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917144123.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917131556.htm Challenging conventional wisdom, new research finds that the number of sunspots provides an incomplete measure of changes in the Sun's impact on Earth over the course of the 11-year solar cycle. The Sun can bombard Earth with high-speed streams of energy even in the virtual absence of sunspots. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917131556.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916223911.htm German scientists investigating the complex chemical mixture thought to be present in the early Earth's oceans have found that amino acids can be 'cooked' into many other important chemical building blocks of life when embedded in salt crusts. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916223911.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916123643.htm Speeding along in orbit at more than seven kilometres per second, the International Space Station has its surfaces carefully shielded against potentially catastrophic collisions with micrometeoroids or man-made debris. Except that is for a trio of unprotected panels until recently attached to external payload platform of ESA’s Columbus module, specifically intended to sustain impacts from tiny specks of space dust. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916123643.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916092653.htm Networks of giant polygonal troughs etched across crater basins on Mars have been identified as desiccation cracks caused by evaporating lakes, providing further evidence of a warmer, wetter martian past. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090916092653.htm