CTIO / NOIRLab / SOAR / NSF / AURA/ T. Kareta (Lowell Observatory), M. Knight (US Naval Academy)
Five new studies show smashing spacecraft into asteroids could be a viable way to defend Earth from threatening space rocks.
Artist’s impression of the asteroid discovered toward the Sun.
DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine
With a diameter between 1.1km and 2.3km, asteroid 2022 AP7 is the largest potentially hazardous asteroid found since 2014.
NASA/ESA/STScI/Hubble
DART has forever changed the orbit of a small asteroid – and done so with much greater success than expected.
Illustration of DART before impact.
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
The first ever planetary defence test is about to take place 11 million kilometres from Earth. All we can do is wait and see.