Tag: asteroid
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Rubin Observatory team discovers 11,000 new asteroids, with help from University of Washington software
A model of the inner solar system shows asteroids discovered by the Rubin Observatory in light teal. Previously known asteroids are dark blue. The model highlights almost 12,700 asteroids that the Rubin team has discovered over the course of a year and a half. (Photo: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NOIRLab / SLAC /…
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Rubin Observatory spots an asteroid that spins fast enough to set a record
An artist’s conception zeroes in on a main-belt asteroid called 2025 MN45, which makes a full rotation in less than two minutes. (Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NOIRLab / SLAC / AURA / P. Marenfeld) Astronomers say they’ve found an asteroid that spins faster than other space rocks of its size. The asteroid,…
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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe delivers sample of asteroid — and moves on to next target
Lockheed Martin system safety engineer Victoria Theim checks out the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule after its Utah desert landing. (NASA Photo / Keegan Barber) Seven years and 4 billion miles after its launch, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has successfully dropped off a capsule containing a precious sample of one near-Earth asteroid — and is now on…
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Scientists successfully test algorithm for identifying potentially hazardous asteroids
A bird’s-eye view of the solar system shows the orbital path for Earth in blue and the projected orbit for the asteroid known as 2022 SF289 at its closest approach in green. Orbits of Venus and Mars are shown in orange and red. (Credit: Joachim Moeyens / University of Washington / OpenSpace) A new technique…
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DART probe hits bull’s eye on an asteroid and strikes a blow for planetary defense
An image from NASA’s DART spacecraft shows the asteroid Didymos at lower right and Dimorphos, a moonlet that orbits Didymos, at upper center. (NASA / JHUAPL Photo) Ten months after NASA’s DART spacecraft was aimed at a mini-asteroid, the probe hit the bull’s eye today in a practice round for planetary defense that got an…
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Astronomers demonstrate how using the cloud can rev up the race to find asteroids
This visualization shows trajectories of asteroids found using ADAM (in green). Earth’s orbit is represented by a blue arc closer to the sun. (B612 Asteroid Institute / UW DiRAC Institute / Open Space Project) Astronomers have used a cloud-based technique pioneered at the University of Washington to identify and track asteroids in bunches of a…
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NASA begins DART mission to practice pushing away an asteroid, with an extra push from Aerojet
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches NASA’s DART asteroid probe from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. (NASA via YouTube) A space probe the size of a school bus is on its way to smash into an asteroid the size of Egypt’s Great Pyramid, directed by thruster systems built by Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond, Wash. This…
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OSIRIS-REx probe touches down to grab bits of an asteroid, with assist from Aerojet
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe lowering its sample collection arm to the surface of the asteroid Bennu. (Lockheed Martin Illustration) NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe reached the climax of its seven-year round trip to deep space today and briefly touched down on a near-Earth asteroid, propelled by thrusters made in the Seattle area. Scientists and…
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First Mode wins $1.8M contract to build hardware for Psyche mission to asteroid
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Psyche spacecraft at the asteroid Psyche. The Deep Space Optical Communication demonstrator is pointing out from the bottom panel of the spacecraft in this configuration. (NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU Illustration) Seattle-based First Mode has been awarded a $1.8 million subcontract from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to build flight hardware…
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Happy Asteroid Day! Why we’re going out to space rocks before they come for us
An artist’s conception shows the spacecraft for NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test approaching its target. (NASA / JHUAPL Illustration) Today’s 112th anniversary of a close brush with a cosmic catastrophe serves as a teachable moment about the perils and prospects posed by near-Earth asteroids. Asteroid Day is timed to commemorate a blast from space that…