NASA Volunteers Find Fifteen Rare “Active Asteroids”

NASA Volunteers Find Fifteen Rare “Active Asteroids”

Some extraordinary asteroids have “activity”—comet-like tails or envelopes of gas and dust.  NASA’s Active Asteroids project announced the discovery of activity on fifteen asteroids, challenging conventional wisdom about the solar system. To find these...
NASA’s Planetary Radar Images Slowly Spinning Asteroid

NASA’s Planetary Radar Images Slowly Spinning Asteroid

During the close approach of 2008 OS7 with Earth on Feb. 2, the agency’s Deep Space Network planetary radar gathered the first detailed images of the stadium-size asteroid. On Feb. 2, a large asteroid safely drifted past Earth at a distance of about 1.8 million miles...
NASA System Predicts Impact of a Very Small Asteroid Over Germany

NASA System Predicts Impact of a Very Small Asteroid Over Germany

The Scout impact assessment system calculated where and when the asteroid 2024 BX1 would impact Earth’s atmosphere, providing a useful demonstration of planetary defense capability. A small asteroid about 3 feet (1 meter) in size disintegrated harmlessly over Germany...