Asteroids
Latest about Asteroids
![The interaction between the solar wind and the surface of asteroids may have created Earth's water](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LNrYpWzBBsmBQ4FYknSWcd-320-80.jpeg)
Radioactive space rocks could have seeded life on Earth, new research suggests
By Ben Turner published
Radioactive isotopes were found to produce amino acids inside carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.
![The 2.5 ounce slice which contains the two brand new minerals.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RNpqdMchunRoNHiXv9uyFQ-320-80.jpg)
Two minerals never seen before on Earth found inside 17-ton meteorite
By Ben Turner published
The minerals were found inside a slice of the El Ali meteorite, which was found in Somalia in 2020.
![This 30-second exposure of the night sky shows a green fireball streaking toward Lake Ontario near the U.S.-Canada border.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ErxPHba8EVarYHjSQPT75S-320-80.jpg)
Eerie green fireball detected hours before smashing into Lake Ontario in the dead of night
By Brandon Specktor published
A renegade meteor flared in Earth’s atmosphere in the wee hours of Nov. 19, creating a bright green fireball in the sky over the eastern US and Canada.
![The meteorite landed in a driveway in the town of Winchcombe in February 2021](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sDCPVEzWbqnPWZ6ozYG4Ld-320-80.jpeg)
4.6 billion-year-old meteorite may reveal the origin of Earth's water
By Ben Turner published
The rock is 4.6 billion years old, meaning it was around at the beginning of the solar system
![Underwater explorer and marine biologist Mike Barnetteand wreck diver Jimmy Gadomskiexploring a twenty-foot segment of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AKtCGBdFQXKZcmP9zGiBFK-320-80.jpg)
Long-lost wreckage from the Challenger spacecraft discovered near Bermuda Triangle
By Bruce Westbrook published
Roughly half the space shuttle Challenger, which tragically exploded in 1986, remains missing. Now, one more piece has come to light off the Florida coast.
![An illustration of an asteroid streaking toward Earth. The asteroid that hit Earth about 66 million years ago triggered a tsunami with mile-high waves.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aWhRa8jDVCDWoUHvbadYEk-320-80.jpg)
'Planet killer' asteroid hiding in sun's glare could smash into Earth one day
By Ben Turner last updated
Asteroids of this size are big enough to cause mass extinction events.
![An image of the Arecibo Observatory's iconic radio telescope as seen between two serious cable failures that preceded the facility's collapse.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Yqw9CEuMhf7KnJjEx6nLXn-320-80.jpg)
Collapsed Arecibo telescope offers near-Earth asteroid warning from beyond the grave
By Brandon Specktor published
The famous Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico completely collapsed in 2020. Now, scientists going through its final observations offer a major new asteroid report.
![An artist's impression of a near-Earth asteroid.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eaNog7E2PwANAXxyUtDTac-320-80.jpg)
A monstrously large, 'potentially hazardous' asteroid will zip through Earth's orbit on Halloween
By Ben Turner published
The asteroid's upper size estimate is just short of the world's tallest building.
![An illustration of the trajectory of potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid 3200 Phaethon as it passed by Earth in 2017. New research suggests the asteroid's spin is accelerating.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wEFkJg6QqLuuShpecKQZHf-320-80.jpg)
Bizarre near-Earth asteroid is spinning faster every year — and scientists aren’t sure why
By Harry Baker published
Astronomers have discovered that a potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid, 3200 Phaethon, has an unusual accelerating spin that could eventually change its trajectory through the solar system.
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