Asteroid Archives

Two Airplane-Sized Asteroids to Skirt Past Earth, Reports NASA

7Apr

By Varun KumarNo Comments

Two Airplane-Sized Asteroids to Skirt Past Earth, Reports NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that two asteroids, each comparable in size to an aircraft, are set to swoosh past our planet. NASA's website recently revealed that a duo of airplane-sized asteroids will perform a close flyby of Earth today. Intriguingly, a building-sized asteroid is also expected to approach our planet on the same day. Following this, two more asteroids will draw near to Earth on Monday. The three asteroids set to come close to Earth have an average size of around 73 meters. Any celestial object larger than approximately 150 meters and capable of approaching Earth within a certain distance is termed a potentially hazardous object by NASA. According to NASA's data, the asteroid 2024 FG will approach Earth up to a distance of ...

Asteroid Detected Just Hours Before It Exploded Above Berlin

27Jan

By Varun KumarNo Comments

Science

Asteroid Detected Just Hours Before It Exploded Above Berlin

In the early hours of Sunday, January 21, residents near Berlin, Germany, witnessed a remarkable event in the night sky. A small asteroid, later designated as 2024 BX1, disintegrated harmlessly as it entered Earth's atmosphere. What makes this occurrence truly unique is that scientists were able to detect and track the asteroid a mere three hours before impact. The discovery of asteroid 2024 BX1 can be attributed to the diligent work of Krisztián Sárneczky, an astronomer at the Piszkéstető Mountain Station in Hungary. Using the powerful 60-cm Schmidt telescope at the Konkoly Observatory, Sárneczky identified the cosmic rock and promptly reported his findings. This early detection allowed NASA to provide a detailed prediction of the asteroid's impact location and time. As the asteroid...

NASA Overcomes the Toughest Challenge – Accessing Bennu Sample

13Jan

By Varun KumarNo Comments

Science

NASA Overcomes the Toughest Challenge – Accessing Bennu Sample

In a groundbreaking mission, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft embarked on a journey to asteroid Bennu, located billions of miles away from Earth. After months of meticulous planning and preparation, the mission reached a significant milestone by successfully collecting samples from the surface of the asteroid. These samples hold the key to unraveling the mysteries of our cosmic origins and providing valuable insights into the evolution of our solar system. The OSIRIS-REx mission, a testament to human ingenuity and scientific curiosity, set out to collect samples from asteroid Bennu and bring them back to Earth for analysis. The journey of this spacecraft spanned billions of miles, culminating in a triumphant landing in Utah in September 2023. NASA scientists and engineers faced numerous cha...