The discovery of a key component of RNA in samples from asteroid Ryugu adds weight to the theory that basic organic molecules may have arrived on Earth from outer space.
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Articles on Asteroids
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In 2021, searchers recovered a meteorite that fell over the UK just hours earlier. Scientists have now reconstructed its story.
Five new studies show smashing spacecraft into asteroids could be a viable way to defend Earth from threatening space rocks.
Proponents of mining in space often point to the potential benefits for Earth and its people. But this research casts doubt on many of them.
Discovered less than a week ago, the truck-sized asteroid skimmed much closer to Earth’s surface than most satellites.
Rubble pile asteroids are like giant space cushions, floating around the Solar System for billions of years. Here’s what that means for planetary defence.
Geminids – the best meteor shower of the year – are about to grace the skies. Here’s everything you need to know.
From space to the outback, meteorite-tracking tools are building the knowledge we need to prepare for a future asteroid impact.
With a diameter between 1.1km and 2.3km, asteroid 2022 AP7 is the largest potentially hazardous asteroid found since 2014.
DART has forever changed the orbit of a small asteroid – and done so with much greater success than expected.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test successfully showed that it is possible to crash a spacecraft into a small asteroid and change its orbit. This technique could save Earth from asteroids in the future.
Tiny glass droplets found on the Moon show Earth and its satellite have been hit by ‘waves’ of asteroid impacts in the past.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test successfully showed that it is possible to crash a spacecraft into a small asteroid. Whether the approach could save Earth from a future threat remains to be seen.
The first ever planetary defence test is about to take place 11 million kilometres from Earth. All we can do is wait and see.
We don’t know much about the target asteroid of Nasa’s imminent Dart mission, so it’s hard to predict what will happen when we crash into it.
Crashing the 1,340-pound DART probe into the small moonlet orbiting the asteroid Didymos should redirect its trajectory – and could be a model for how to save Earth in the future.
The dinosaurs were possibly annihilated by two asteroids.
Giant meteorite impacts may have created the land we live on
By tracking a meteorite found in Morocco back to its origin in an asteroid crater on Mars millions of years ago, scientists can learn more about how the planets formed.
When the meteor exploded into pieces above New Zealand, it produced a shock wave strong enough to be picked up by earthquake seismometers. But any fragments have likely dropped into the ocean.
Top contributors
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Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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Senior Curator (Astronomy), Museums Victoria, and Honorary Fellow, The University of Melbourne
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Web and database guy, Macquarie University
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Earth and paleo-climate scientist, Australian National University
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John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University
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Professor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland
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Director, Space Science and Technology Centre, Curtin University
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Alan Duffy is a Friend of The Conversation.
Director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute, Swinburne University of Technology
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Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of Bristol
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Associate Professor, Curtin University
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Associate Professor in Astronomy, Monash University
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Program Manager / Adjunct Research Fellow, Swinburne University of Technology
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Research Associate, The Open University
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Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University
