A truck-size asteroid whizzed above our planet early Wednesday just hours after it was first discovered, passing closer to the surface of Earth than the ring of large communications satellites in orbit.
This more recent little cosmic visitor whipped by us at decent speed, traveling at over 39,000 miles per hour (18 kilometers per second). Mt. Lemmon Survey in Arizona originally spotted it on Tuesday, not long before its close approach.
EarthSky | Small asteroid skimmed close to Earth, hours after discovery
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Asteroid 2021 RS2 came just 9,532 miles (15,340 km) from Earth’s surface. Was that close? Yes, really close. Earth’s diameter is about 7,917.5 miles (12,742 km). So we can say the new-found space rock was passing slightly farther than one Earth-diameter.
NASA is going to slam a spacecraft into an asteroid. Things might get pretty chaotic.
The dinosaurs didn't have a space program, so when an asteroid headed toward Earth with their name on it 65 million years ago, they had no warning and no way to defend themselves. We know how that turned out.
Humans are, understandably, keen to avoid the same fate. Later this year, NASA will launch a mission to practice how we might deflect a future Earthbound asteroid.
New Image of the "Dog-Boned Asteroid" Leads to Clues About its Origin | SETI Institute
In a new paper published in Astronomy and Astrophysics , the European Southern Observatory (ESO) released the sharpest and most detailed images of the asteroid Kleopatra, sometimes called the "dog-boned asteroid." Kleopatra orbits the sun in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.
"Kleopatra is truly a unique body in our Solar System," said Franck Marchis , an astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, USA and at the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille in France, who led one of the two studies on the asteroid published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics .
The Dark Asteroid Ryugu Finally Comes Into the Light | WIRED
In 2018, the Japanese space agency's Hayabusa2 probe visited the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu, which occasionally traverses our world's orbit (but has yet to come dangerously close).
While the initial analysis from that precious sample likely won't be available until early next year, scientists are now releasing findings from Hayabusa2's onboard cameras and instruments.
Follow asteroid Pallas while at its best for 2021 – Astronomy Now
Minor planet (2) Pallas reaches opposition on the night of 10/11 September (Friday night/Saturday morning) at 01:48h UT, when it lies at a distance of 321 million kilometres (2.146 astronomical units [AU]) from Earth and 471 million kilometres (3.149 AU) from the Sun.
Pallas is one of the so-called 'big four' asteroids, together with Ceres, (3) Juno and (4) Vesta (Juno's inclusion in this exclusive company is owing to its early discovery rather than its size; its the thirteenth-largest asteroid in terms of diameter).
NASA to Attack an Asteroid in Space to Prepare Against Future Collisions | The Swaddle
NASA is planning an attack on an asteroid in space — to learn how to deflect future Earthbound asteroids, and protect humans from meeting the same fate as dinosaurs , who were wiped off the planet by asteroid strikes.
“The dinosaurs didn't have a space program, so when an asteroid headed toward Earth with their name on it 65 million years ago, they had no warning and no way to defend themselves.
Why are Rubble Pile Asteroids Shaped Like Diamonds? - Universe Today
Scientists are fortunate enough to have detailed, close-up views of the near-Earth asteroids Bennu and Ryugu. Both asteroids have a diamond shape, for some reason. Why? Up until now, it’s been a puzzle.
Asteroids are an ongoing target of study for scientists. They’re remnants from the primordial Solar System, material that wasn’t swept up in planet formation. Most of them are way out in the asteroid belt, where they’re difficult to study.
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