Asteroid

Astronomers red-faced after mistaking Musk's Tesla Roadster for asteroid

Without central repository for artificial objects, it'll only get worse

Offbeat27 Jan 2025 | 55

Scientists demonstrate X-rays as a way to zap asteroids out of Earth's path

Lab-based proof-of-concept shows how radiation creates explosive plumes to deflect menacing space rocks

Science24 Sep 2024 | 50

ESA starts work on planetary defence mission, because Bruce Willis is retired

Asteroid Apophis will come within 32,000km of Earth in 2029, which makes it very much worth a visit

Science17 Jul 2024 | 20

NASA finds humanity would totally fumble asteroid defense

Earthly politics and mission planning no match for fast-moving rocky orb

Science21 Jun 2024 | 99

NASA's Psyche hits 25 Mbps from 140 million miles away – enough for Ultra HD Netflix

Laser beam comms are fast, so long as the weather cooperates

Science27 Apr 2024 | 55

OSIRIS-REx probe sucked up more asteroid crumbs than hoped

121 grams is the largest such sample secured, but NASA won't blow it all at once

Science16 Feb 2024 | 28

Tiny asteroid's earthly fireworks predicted with pinpoint accuracy by NASA

Last year it was over France. This year it was over Germany. Where will the rocks strike next?

Science25 Jan 2024 | 12

OSIRIS-REx's stuck asteroid sample canister finally cracked open by NASA

Space eggheads invent tools just to get that precious dust

Science23 Jan 2024 | 30

NASA engineers got their parachute wires crossed for OSIRIS-REx mission

'Inconsistent wiring label definitions' resulted in drogue being cut before it was deployed

Science06 Dec 2023 | 25

NASA's Lucy probe scores a threefer as it flies by first target in 12-year mission

Scientists shocked to find Dinkinesh is orbited by two touching asteroids

Science10 Nov 2023 | 10

As NASA struggles to open OSIRIS-REx's asteroid sample can, probe heads off to next rock

Screw it... no wait, unscrew it, cry boffins

Science01 Nov 2023 | 18

NASA's Psyche asteroid mission suffers another heavenly holdup

Dodgy weather results in a launch postponement

Science12 Oct 2023 |

Bennu unboxing shows ancient asteroid holds carbon and water

Just some building blocks for life – in a few billion years, who knows what could develop?

Science12 Oct 2023 | 14

NASA taking its time unboxing asteroid sample because it grabbed too much stuff

Dirty deed, done in deep space

Science05 Oct 2023 | 17

NASA delays already-late $1B Psyche probe's visit to metal-rich asteroid

Given it was first due to blast off last year, what's another week or so?

Science30 Sep 2023 | 11

OSIRIS-REx successfully delivers NASA's first asteroid sample

Molto Bennu

Science25 Sep 2023 | 18

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is returning with its first-ever asteroid sample

Regolith scraped from the surface of Bennu will reach Earth on 24 September

Science01 Sep 2023 | 27

Astronomers testing next-gen asteroid-hunting algorithm discover potentially hazardous object

Scientists explain how the new HelioLinc3D software works to The Register

Science01 Aug 2023 | 6

NASA's DART kicked up swarm of 37 boulders after Dimorphos asteroid crash

Hubble Space Telescope managed to capture 'some of the faintest things ever imaged inside our solar system'

Science21 Jul 2023 | 9

NASA to store pair of probes it's built but can’t send to target asteroids

Janus asteroid sats headed for That Box Full Of Old Tech You Should Probably Have Thrown Out But Kept Just In Case

Science13 Jul 2023 | 26

NASA's heavy metal Psyche asteroid trip is a go for October

Team problems found last year seem to have been resolved

Science07 Jun 2023 | 4

We regret to inform you Earth will not be destroyed by an asteroid within 1,000 years

Never mind, there's always nuclear war and climate catastrophe

Offbeat17 May 2023 | 39

Alien rock causes cosmic disturbance in New Jersey home

Potential meteorite excites everyone but the insurance company

Offbeat11 May 2023 | 36

Hold off on that 2046 Valentine's date, asteroid might hit Earth

Luckily this rock is only about the size of the Arc de Triomphe, let alone the 600-to-1 chance

Science12 Mar 2023 | 24

NASA finds crashing spacecraft into asteroids is a viable defence strategy

Recoil from DART impact changed Dimorphos's orbit more than expected

Science02 Mar 2023 | 37

NASA: Yup, thousand-pound meteorite exploded over Texas

As good time as any for Europe to announce a 2030 asteroid-spotting mission

Science22 Feb 2023 | 48

Truck-size asteroid makes one of the tightest fly-bys of Earth ever recorded

What a tease

Science27 Jan 2023 | 39

Space dust reveals Earth-killer asteroids tough to destroy

Good luck blowing up a pile of rubble. Boffins suggest we'll need to create a diversion instead

Science25 Jan 2023 | 48

Lucy asteroid probe forced to limp on without full solar array

Attempts to fix glitch ditched – but never give up, never surrender

Science24 Jan 2023 | 2

NASA reassigns Venus boffins to save short-staffed asteroid interceptor

Need Another Special Artisan? The US space agency does

Science08 Nov 2022 | 11

Oh, great. By peering into twilight, boffins find 'planet killer' asteroids in our system

One may hit Earth, but unlikely. One could whack Venus. This is good or bad news, depending on your outlook

Science01 Nov 2022 | 16

NASA's Lucy probe dodges space traffic around Earth in gravity-assist flyby

Spacecraft coming through, outta the way, watch your step, we're heading to Jupiter

Science17 Oct 2022 | 5

How to watch NASA Jupiter probe's flyby of Earth

Lucy in the sky, with good-byes, then

Science16 Oct 2022 | 10

Confirmed: Asteroid shoved by Earth crash probe DART

Stand down Bruce Willis, 'first planetary defense test' a success

Science12 Oct 2022 | 36

Scientists overjoyed after DART smashes into asteroid Dimorphos, contact lost

Video Task failed successfully

Science27 Sep 2022 | 48

This hero probe will smash into an asteroid to see if we can deflect future killer rocks

Feature We chat to the scientists involved in first-of-its-kind mission

Science24 Sep 2022 | 47

Rare hexagonal diamond formed by crash of dwarf planet and asteroid, scientists believe

'Lonsdaleite' is even harder than normal diamonds and its genesis shows how we might make more

Science14 Sep 2022 | 34

NASA uses occult means to spot tiny moon orbiting asteroid

Lucy probe is five years away from getting a closeup of Polymele's satellite

Science17 Aug 2022 | 12

Ryugu asteroid: It came from the outer solar system, say scientists

Japanese Hayabusa-2 probe samples reveal coarse-grained phyllosilicates that may have served as 'cradles' for organics and water

Science16 Aug 2022 | 16

Asteroids may shoot pebbles into shallow temporary orbits, boffins believe

OSIRIS-Rex saw this happening. An odd meteorite suggests why and how

Science12 Aug 2022 | 5

City-killing asteroid won't hit Earth in 2052 after all

ESA ruins our day with some bad news

Science29 Jun 2022 | 29

Second Trojan asteroid confirmed to be leading our planet around the Sun

Good candidate for fly-by, say scientists, and we’ve got 4,000 years to do it

Science02 Feb 2022 | 46

Boffins' first take on asteroid dust from Japanese probe: Carbon rich, less lumpy than expected

The five grams of Ryugu we got suggests it's made of the same stuff as the outer Sun

Science22 Dec 2021 | 79

NASA installs a new and improved algorithm to better track near-Earth asteroids

Nearly 20 year-old software used to protect humanity gets an upgrade

Software08 Dec 2021 | 15

NASA boffins seem to think we're worth saving from fiery asteroid death so they're shooting a spaceship at one

Bruce Willis not required

Science24 Nov 2021 | 76

Solar System's fastest-orbiting asteroid spotted, flies closer to the Sun than Mercury

Boffins ponder where space rock came from

Science24 Aug 2021 | 34

Good news: There's a slightly increased chance of asteroid Bennu hitting Earth. Bad news: It's still really slight

Don't get your hopes up about that Sept 24, 2182 end-of-world party

Science12 Aug 2021 | 37

Euro space boffins hatch comms satellite hijack plan to save Earth from extinction

Liv Tyler-friendly Armageddon-avoidance project won't want to miss a thing with repurposed orbiters

Science13 Jul 2021 | 54

Sadly, the catastrophic impact with Apophis asteroid isn't going to happen in 2068

Astroboffins are so confident, this once dangerous near-Earth object has now been struck off official risk lists

Science28 Mar 2021 | 67

We got it! Japanese space agency confirms its probe has Ryugu asteroid samples

Andromeda Strain anyone?

Science15 Dec 2020 | 30

No need for more asteroid-blasting attempts, NASA's OSIRIS-REx has more than enough space dirt

There may be carbon, water, clay, perhaps even platinum, gold in them hills

Science30 Oct 2020 | 24

FYI: NASA appears to have scooped dirt from an asteroid 200 million miles away and plans to bring it back home

Would be nice if civilization could hold out for 2023 to see its return

Science21 Oct 2020 | 62

A 73bn-kg, skyscraper-size chocolate creme egg spinning fast enough to eventually explode – it's asteroid Bennu

And we're about to extract a sample from it

Science09 Oct 2020 | 36

Bennu Jerry's, anyone? OSIRIS-REx probe to attempt 3 scoops of asteroid next month before bringing samples home

Video Dress rehearsals done, nice shingly crater chosen – it's go time

Science25 Sep 2020 | 13

NASA is sending two small hand-luggage suitcase-sized spacecraft into the void to study binary asteroids

Janus mission seeks solution to orbiting space rocks in the Solar System

Science12 Sep 2020 | 27

Shine on you crazy diamond: We don't know who needs to hear it but NASA's explained the weird shape of the Bennu asteroid

Something that doesn't involve viruses, politics and wildfires

Science10 Sep 2020 | 16