We’re finding more near-Earth objects all the time, and the challenge is to identify those that could potentially hit us. So how come we missed one that caused a huge blast in December?
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Articles on Meteorites
Displaying 41 - 60 of 69 articles
The comet 46P/Wirtanen is just 1.2km in size but it should be visible in the night sky this Saturday as it makes a close approach to Earth this year. And don’t forget the Geminids meteor shower.
Expect a spectacular display of 120 or more meteors per hour – some of them brightly coloured.
Meteorite impacts have fundamentally shaped the history of our planet.
A meteorite hitting Earth at many kilometres per second puts ‘ground zero’ target rocks under immense pressure. A shock wave faster than the speed of sound can result – and new materials created.
Space mining has the potential to provide a greater supply of resources either for being exploited locally for construction or being sent back to earth.
Each meteorite is a piece of the puzzle to understanding our solar system.
Large asteroids have hit Australia over many millions of years and the evidence is in the landscape, if you know where to look.
A new trajectory means the mission to uncover core facts about the asteroid belt will happen sooner than planned.
They erupted for billions of years and make Earth’s volcanoes look like molehills. Here’s what we know and what we don’t know about them.
Ten new remote cameras will soon be scouring the British night skies for meteorites.
The pioneers of Australian scientific research, education and communication have been recognised in the 2016 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.
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 discovery of the second oldest known asteroid impact site in the world can give us tantalising hints of the Earth’s early crust.
Research has confirmed a knife found in the ancient Egyptian pharaoh’s tomb was made with metal from the heavens.
Hunting for meteorites in the vast Pilbara is hard work, but even a tiny speck can tell us a great deal about the sky billions of years ago.
Was it a UFO? Was it a high-tech plane? Here’s what lucky people really saw over Scotland on February 29.
A meteoriticist takes a look at the evidence surrounding a tragic death – and gives her verdict on whether it was caused by a meteorite.
It’s no easy task to find a meteorite that’s just been seen flashing across the sky. But it helps if you have an automatic network of “eyes” on the night sky.
The early solar system was a busy place with plenty of meteorite impacts on the new planets and moons. But finding evidence of such impacts on Earth can be tricky.
Top contributors
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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Senior Curator (Astronomy), Museums Victoria and Honorary Fellow at University of Melbourne, Museums Victoria Research Institute
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Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University
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Geologist, Monash University
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Adjunct professor, UNSW Sydney
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Professor of Structural Geology and Metamorphic Petrology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Lecturer, University of the Western Cape
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Lecturer in Planetary Science, The Open University
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PhD Candidate in Astronomy, University of Southern Queensland
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Professor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland
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Professor, Applied Geology, Curtin University
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Director, Space Science and Technology Centre, Curtin University
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Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science and Planetary Exploration, University of Stirling
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Chris Jeynes is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professorial Research Fellow, University of Surrey
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Professor of Organic Geochemistry & Meteoritics, Imperial College London
