Ceres.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / Justin Cowart
Exciting new research suggests that a crater on Ceres may be a cradle of life.
A gamma ray burst close to Earth could be devastating.
ESO/A. Roquette
If we survive for another 7.59 billion years, our planet will spiral into the outer layers of the dying sun and melt away forever.
Patience can be rewarded as with this composite of the 2016 Geminids meteor shower, seen over Mt Teide volcano on the Canary Islands, off Spain.
Flickr/StarryEarth
2017 is looking to be a spectacular year for meteor showers. So here’s what to look out for in both the northern and southern skies.
Shutterstock
New research suggests how asteroids may have helped create conditions for life on Earth. But we shouldn’t get too carried away with the idea – yet.
shutterstock.
In part two of our podcast on rebooting, we explore what would happen if humanity was wiped out, take a look at a political comeback in France, and get a taste of a revamped US institution.
Artist’s conception of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at Bennu asteroid.
NASA/GSFC
Scientists are hoping to collect 100g of material from asteroid Bennu.
How to save the Earth from an asteroid strike.
Shutterstock/trialhuni
Large asteroid hits on Earth have the potential to wipe out humanity so knowing how to detect and deflect them is vital. But we know very little about the interior make up of many asteroids.
Ceres’ Haulani Crater shows evidence of landslides from its crater rim.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
The latest data from the Dawn space probe points to underground ice flows and a water vapour atmosphere.
Shutterstock
New research suggests the Chicxulub asteroid impact threw up billions of tons of oil soot that blocked out the sun for a decade.
The village of Agoudal in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains is home to a rare treasure.
Mohamed Aoudjehane
High in the mountains of Morocco, scientists have discovered something remarkable and rare: a spot that was struck by two meteorites, possibly millions of years apart.
The early Earth may have been shaped by asteroid bombardment.
Shutterstock
The discovery of the second oldest known asteroid impact site in the world can give us tantalising hints of the Earth’s early crust.
NASA
NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission has had its funding cut. Here’s why politicians should think again.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft will be able to take humans further away from Earth than ever before.
NASA
From inflatable space stations to trips to asteroids and maybe even Mars, the next decade of human spaceflight will include many exciting firsts.
Shutterstock
The idea that the dinosaurs were wiped out by a giant asteroid was ridiculed – until the remains of a giant crater were found deep underground.
How would people react to mining on the moon?
NASA, GPN-2001-000009
No one nation should be allowed to go it alone and develop a mining industry in space. It needs an international effort and Australia, with a long history in mining, can play its part.
A highlight of 2015 was the number of weird and wonderful exoplanets that were found.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
From a flyby of Pluto to the search for extrasolar planets and gravitational waves, 2015 was a monumental year for space news.
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as seen from Rosetta.
ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM
Prepare to be amazed …
A composite image of the Geminid Meteors.
Phil Hart/Tanya Hill
A darkened moon is promising to allow us to see one of the best meteor showers of the year, so long as the skies are clear.
Ceres: a bright spot in planetary exploration.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
Is it a dwarf planet, an asteroid or a comet? All of the above? Well, with the latest results about Ceres, researchers aren’t entirely sure anymore.
TB145 will miss. But Earth has been hit by countless asteroids in the past.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab/flickr
An asteroid will flash by the Earth at the weekend. What do we know about it? And what would happen if a such an object did hit us?