Bug-eyed asteroid hunter: ESA's Flyeye telescope

The Alvarez hypothesis, proposed by the father and son duo Luis and Walter Alvarez in 1980, states that an asteroid struck Earth more than 65 million years ago and kicked off the extinction of dinosaurs. Although its impact crater has been presumed to be in Mexico, new light has now been shed on how it reached Earth. According to the English physicist Brian Cox, the asteroid, which formed a 140-kilometer impact crater, was thrown off its course by Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System.

Asteroids have become top billing in news ever since it was first surmised that one such space rock had caused the demise of the dinosaurs. However, did you know that asteroids are sometimes called minor planets? According to NASA, asteroids are rocky parts that were left from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The size of the asteroids ranges from 530 km in diameter to 10 m. These space rocks are usually observed in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. However, there is a probability of asteroids being threat to our planet. Therefore, it is extremely important to track them. Sometimes, interaction with a planet's gravitational field knocks these asteroids off their trajectories and sends them towards a planet like Earth for potential impact.

Asteroids will always be a matter of concern for the Earth. Therefore, their detection and monitoring is necessary. One meteor named the Chelyabinsk meteor exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk in the southern Urals region of Russia on February 15, 2013. It injured 1,500 people with flying glass from broken windows. The Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), a branch of NASA, monitors the skies and keeps a watch on various Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). The organization has recently issued a warning against an asteroid designated as Asteroid 2023 PM1. It is just one of the millions of asteroids that have been discovered to date. NASA keeps an eye on the asteroids with the help of advanced ground and space-based telescopes and satellites.

We know that asteroids revolve around the Sun in their own elliptical orbits, and most of them are located in the main asteroid belt present between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. So how do they come close to Earth? According to NASA, this can happen if an asteroid gets knocked off course, affected by a large planet's gravitational pull. Their orbits can also bring them extremely close to Earth. Although these close approaches might threaten the planet, they can also help scientists study asteroids up close which can aid in discovering secrets of space!

The asteroid that struck Earth around 65 million years ago profoundly impacted the planet's future. While this impact was disastrous, it wasn't the biggest asteroid to ever hit Earth. Researchers have now found the crater of the largest asteroid to ever hit the planet located beneath the surface in New South Wales, Australia. The Deniliquin structure, which is nearly 520 kilometers wide, surpasses the previously known biggest asteroid crater called Vredefort, which was around 300 kilometers wide. The Deniliquin impact likely occurred on Gondwana's eastern part before its continent fragmentation.

We have all heard stories about the asteroid strike on Earth 65 million years ago causing the mass extinction of dinosaurs. However, there are multiple theories surrounding the claims and every now and then we get to know a new fact. One theory that has been shared by Professor Brian Cox - Physicist, says that Jupiter deflected the asteroid towards Earth.

Asteroids are space rocks mostly present in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Since these bodies are so far, how do NASA and other space agencies track them? Sometimes, interaction with a planet's gravitational field knocks these asteroids off their trajectories and sends them towards a planet like Earth for potential impact. When NASA's telescopes track a new Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA), astronomers measure the asteroid's observed positions in the sky and report them to the Minor Planet Center. The Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) then uses that data to determine the asteroid's most likely orbit around the Sun, according to NASA.

Throughout Earth's history, our planet has experienced numerous instances of asteroids colliding with it, either making impact on the surface or exploding in the atmosphere. These asteroid strikes, much like volcanoes, are natural processes that have played a role in shaping the Earth's surface. While most of these asteroid impacts involved small objects, there are some that are terrifyingly big. One such big asteroid crate was the Chicxulub asteroid crater, which is estimated to be 180 km in diameter. This asteroid strike killed off all the dinosaurs. Shockingly, a new study has found an even bigger asteroid strike crater.

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART, was carried out in September last year with the space agency smashing a spacecraft into the Dimorphos asteroid to knock it off its course. It was the first-ever planetary defense test conducted to protect Earth against potential asteroid impacts in the future. Now, the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft will observe the aftermath of the collision and even capture images of the asteroid's interior when it launches in 2024.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has received a remarkable addition to its Hera mission – a mini-radar designed to fit on the Juventas CubeSat. This small radar is set to accomplish an unprecedented feat: capture images of an asteroid's interior. The primary target is Asteroid Dimorphos, an asteroid roughly the size of the Great Pyramid, whose orbit was significantly altered by NASA's DART spacecraft last year, when a spacecraft was crashed into it.

Asteroids are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system around 4.6 billion years ago, according to NASA. While most of them are located in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, the orbits of these space rocks sometimes bring them close to Earth. Thus, it is imperative that these asteroids are observed and tracked for potentially hazardous situations. NASA has various ground and space-based telescopes to study them.

Asteroids follow orbits that occasionally bring them near Earth, and their potential threat to our planet is a concern acknowledged by the US space agency NASA. Throughout time, various asteroid impacts have occurred, such as the Chelyabinsk asteroid event and the devastating Chicxulub asteroid, which is believed to have resulted in dinosaur extinction. More recently, an incident in France involved a space rock striking a woman in the chest. Putting things in perspective is NASA's Dr. Kelly E. Fast, who emphasizes that Earth has experienced asteroid impacts in the past and believes that such events will recur. The idea is to find and track all asteroids that pose a threat to Earth and deal with it.