Karl Reinmuth

After numerous delays, NASA's Psyche mission is set to lift off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Speaking about this upcoming asteroid mission, Laurie Leshin, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said, “One month out, we are in great shape”. For the unaware, the Psyche mission will study an asteroid known as 16 Psyche, which is made up of gold, nickel, and iron deposits. According to NASA, it could be worth more than the world's economy put together! Other than its gold-rich structure, the outer surface of this asteroid is nickel-rich which resembles an early planet's core.

NASA, ESA and other space agencies have multiple ground and space-based observatories and telescopes for discovering and tracking asteroids. Despite this, one asteroid snuck past these advanced technological marvels! The asteroid, named Asteroid 2023 NT1, made its closest approach to Earth on July 13 when it entered Earth's 60,000-mile radius, which is 4 times closer than the Moon! It was not a small rock either, as scientists later revealed it was nearly 200 feet wide, about 4 times the size of the Chelyabinsk asteroid that caused massive damage in Russia. It was at last found by the Asteroid Terrestrials-Impacts Last Alert System (ATLAS) observatory in South Africa on July 15.

NASA has issued details about an asteroid that is expected to fly past Earth at a close distance. The asteroid, given the designation of Asteroid 2021 JA5, is on its way towards Earth and will make its closest approach to Earth on September 6. This space rock was spotted by NASA's Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), which is responsible for monitoring the skies and keeping a watch on various Near-Earth Objects (NEOs).

Did you know that an asteroid struck Earth this year? While it wasn't a planet killer that wiped out entire species like another space rock did about 65 million years ago, this one did hit the surface. As per NASA, a meteorite turned into an atmospheric fireball on February 15 and crashed near McAllen, Texas. Law enforcement agencies in the McAllen region received several calls from residents who reported hearing a loud explosion. It was a 1000-pound rock that was 2 feet in diameter as it broke into pieces about 21 miles above Earth's surface.

In the past decade, there have been several close calls with asteroids. While none of them have caused enough damage to wipe out life on Earth, they have impacted the surface and given us a stern indication of their destructive potential. In 2013, a mere 59 feet wide space rock, which is no bigger than a small house, was observed rushing towards Chelyabinsk in Russia at a speed of 65000 kilometers per hour and exploded over the city. While its impact was non-fatal, it still injured as many as 1400 people and damaged over 7000 buildings.

NASA is gearing up to launch its Psyche mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 5 at 10:38 a.m. EDT, and it has now called upon digital content creators to cover this amazing feat. The Psyche spacecraft, assisted by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, will lift off from Launch Complex 39A and will undertake a journey to an asteroid called 16 Psyche, which is located in the main asteroid belt, between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars.

Asteroids often make close approaches to Earth, but did you know that one of them hit the planet this year? NASA revealed that on February 15, a 1000-pound, 2 feet wide space rock turned into an atmospheric fireball and broke into pieces about 21 miles above Earth's surface and was found near McAllen, Texas. Law enforcement agencies in the McAllen region received several calls from residents who reported hearing a loud explosion. According to NASA, the space rock was travelling at about 43000 kilometers per hour and it had an energy of about 8 tons of TNT.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Every year on June 30, we celebrate World Asteroid Day. This day commemorates the anniversary of the Tunguska event, which is the largest asteroid strike in recorded history. On June 30, 1908, a carbonaceous asteroid crashed in Yeniseysk Governorate, Russia, and it decimated nearly 2150 square kilometers of forest area and scored the ground. This resulting explosion was recorded at almost 12 megatons. David Morrison, a planetary science researcher at the NASA Ames Research Center termed it as the “largest cosmic event ever witnessed by humans”.

Asteroids fly by Earth at close distances at regular intervals, but not all of them impact the surface. However, there is no guarantee that none of them ever will. In 2013, an asteroid, the size of a house, exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia and damaged over 8000 buildings, leaving nearly 1000 people injured. More recently, another small space rock landed on a woman's roof in France and hit her in the chest! These close calls with asteroids highlight the importance of observing and tracking them for any potential close approaches to the planet.

Asteroids have been known to make frequent close approaches to Earth at regular intervals. That is why space agencies such as NASA and ESA observe, track and even name them. But how does this process take place? According to ESA, the process of assigning a provisional designation to an asteroid begins when a single observer detects it on two consecutive nights and then sends their findings to the Minor Planet Centre of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

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.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is gearing up for the big reveal of the pristine asteroid sample that was collected by its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. During its mission, the spacecraft collected a sample from an asteroid called Bennu which has a 1/2700 chance of impacting Earth between 2175 and 2195. Studying it will not only improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth but also shed light on planet formation and the origin of organics and water that could have led to life, as per NASA.

If asteroids are located millions of kilometers away in space, then why do we need to track them? According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), asteroids, which are ancient space rocks, present a potential threat of collision with Earth and they can help discover secrets of space that have been hidden from us. While most of them are located in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, they often make close approaches to Earth, passing the planet at close distances.

Some asteroids present a potential threat of collision with Earth while others can help discover secrets of space. Although these ancient space rocks are located far away in space, mainly in the asteroid belt, they often make close approaches to Earth, passing the planet at close distances. 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.

NASA, with the help of its advanced ground and space-based telescopes, has tracked an asteroid whose orbit will bring it very close to Earth in the coming days. According to the details published by the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), an asteroid, given the designation of Asteroid 2020 PP1, is on its way toward Earth and could make its closest approach to the planet tomorrow, July 28.

We've heard the tale of an asteroid crashing on Earth nearly 65 million years ago and wiping out the dinosaurs since our childhood. But did you know that it is backed up by a hypothesis? According to the Alvarez hypothesis, this extinction was caused by a massive asteroid that crashed on Earth. Scientists have also discovered the origin of the asteroid. It would've originated between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid terraformed the planet and is likely the reason that started the extinction of dinosaurs. Scientists have even found the impact crater of the asteroid in Chicxulub, near the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

As per NASA, the current known asteroid count is roughly 1,298,148. And now one of them is set to make an extremely close approach to Earth soon. NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) uses data collected by telescopes to determine the asteroid's most likely orbit around the Sun. To assess whether an impact is possible and narrow down where the true orbit may be, NASA's new Sentry II then uses a new algorithm and selects random points throughout the entire uncertainty region. This allows Sentry-II to zero in on more very low probability impact scenarios.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) made history on September 26, 2022, as it successfully carried out its first-ever planetary defense test to protect Earth against potential asteroid impacts. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART, involved smashing a spacecraft into the oncoming Dimorphos asteroid to knock it off its course. While the mission was a success, an after-effect was observed a couple of months later as the Hubble Space Telescope captured 37 previously unseen objects around the asteroid in its orbit.

An asteroid flew past Earth at an extremely close distance, but was seemingly missed by all space agencies! NASA revealed that the asteroid in question, Asteroid 2023 NT1, made its closest approach to Earth on July 13 when it entered Earth's 60,000-mile radius, which is 4 times closer than the Moon! It was not a small rock either, as scientists later revealed it was nearly 200 feet wide, about 4 times the size of the Chelyabinsk asteroid that caused massive damage in Russia. The space rock was found by the Asteroid Terrestrials-Impacts Last Alert System (ATLAS) observatory in South Africa on July 15.