Asteroid
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NASA
What Are Asteroids? (Ages 14-18)
What are asteroids? Asteroids are rocky objects that orbit the Sun just like planets do. In fact, sometimes asteroids are called “minor planets.” These space rocks were left behind after our solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago. Asteroids are found in a wide range of sizes. For example, one small asteroid, 2015 TC25, has a diameter of about…
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NASA
NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Images Asteroid Donaldjohanson
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft took this image of the main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson during its flyby on April 20, 2025, showing the elongated contact binary (an object formed when two smaller bodies collide). This was Lucy’s second flyby in the spacecraft’s 12-year mission. Launched on Oct. 16, 2021, Lucy is the first space mission sent to explore a diverse population of small bodies…
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NASA
NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Images Asteroid Donaldjohanson
In its second asteroid encounter, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft obtained a close look at a uniquely shaped fragment of an asteroid that formed about 150 million years ago. The spacecraft has begun returning images that were collected as it flew approximately 600 miles (960 km) from the asteroid Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025. The asteroid Donaldjohanson as seen by the Lucy…
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Press Releases
NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Prepares Second Asteroid Encounter
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is 6 days and less than 50 million miles (80 million km) away from its second close encounter with an asteroid; this time, the small main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson. Download high-resolution video and images from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.NASA/Dan Gallagher This upcoming event represents a comprehensive “dress rehearsal” for Lucy’s main mission over the next decade: the…
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NASA
How NASA Science Data Defends Earth from Asteroids
The asteroid 2024 YR4 made headlines in February with the news that it had a chance of hitting Earth on Dec. 22, 2032, as determined by an analysis from NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The probability of collision peaked at over 3% on Feb. 18 — the highest…
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NASA
NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Takes Its 1st Images of Asteroid Donaldjohanson
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has its next flyby target, the small main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson, in its sights. By blinking between images captured by Lucy on Feb. 20 and 22, this animation shows the perceived motion of Donaldjohanson relative to the background stars as the spacecraft rapidly approaches the asteroid. NASA’s Lucy spacecraft’s first views of the asteroid Donaldjohanson. The asteroid…
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NASA
NASA to Brief Media on Asteroid Sample Mission Findings
NASA will brief media at 11 a.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 29, to provide an update on science results from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission, which delivered a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth in September 2023. Audio of the media call will stream live on the agency’s website. Participants in the teleconference include:…
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NASA
Study Finds Earth’s Small Asteroid Visitor Likely Chunk of Moon Rock
Lee esta historia en español aquí. The near-Earth object was likely ejected into space after an impact thousands of years ago. Now it could contribute new insights to asteroid and lunar science. The small near-Earth object 2024 PT5 captured the world’s attention last year after a NASA-funded telescope discovered it lingering close to, but never orbiting, our planet for several months.…
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NASA
NASA Researchers Discover More Dark Comets
These celestial objects look like asteroids but act like comets now come in two flavors. The first dark comet — a celestial object that looks like an asteroid but moves through space like a comet — was reported less than two years ago. Soon after, another six were found. In a new paper, researchers announce the discovery of seven more,…
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NASA
Work Is Under Way on NASA’s Next-Generation Asteroid Hunter
The mirrors for NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor space telescope are being installed and aligned, and work on other spacecraft components is accelerating. NASA’s new asteroid-hunting spacecraft is taking shape at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Called NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor), this cutting-edge infrared space telescope will seek out the hardest-to-find asteroids and comets that might pose a…
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