Don’t Look Up: Several Asteroids Are Heading Towards Earth – Dealing With Real-Life Threats to Our Planet
Don’t look now – but we are currently experiencing a rash of stories about a forthcoming global catastrophe. But in a change from reports of…
Meteors
Quadrantids Meteor Shower Offers Winter Skywatching Spectacle
Northern hemisphere stargazers can look forward to what could be 2022’s best meteor shower on January 3-4. Observers enjoying dark skies could see 50 or…
Quadrantid Meteor Shower
Fast Facts Origin 2003 EH1 (an asteroid or a possible “rock comet”) Radiant Constellation Bootes; originally Quadrans Muralis (now a defunct constellation) Active December 28…
We Asked a NASA Scientist: What’s the Difference Between Asteroids, Comets and Meteors? [Video]
What’s the difference between asteroids, comets and meteors? These space rocks each have their own unique attributes. But differences aside, these fascinating objects are all…
Don’t Miss the Geminid Meteor Shower – And Check Out NASA’s Live Meteor Camera
Every December we have a chance to see one of our favorite meteor showers – the Geminids. The shower is currently active until December 17…
Don’t Miss: Hunter’s, Blood Moon and Orionid Meteor Shower
The Next Full Moon is the Hunter’s Moon; the Travel, Dying Grass, Sanguine, or Blood Moon; Shared Purnima; Pavarana; the full Moon of the Thadingyut…
Dashcam Detective Work Leads to Recovery of Space Rocks From Slovenia Fireball
On February 28, 2020, at 10:30 CET, hundreds of people across Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Austria, and Hungary observed a bright ball of light hurtling across…
Fire and Brimstone: A Giant Space Rock Demolished an Ancient Middle Eastern City and Everyone in It
A giant space rock demolished an ancient Middle Eastern city and everyone in it – possibly inspiring the Biblical story of Sodom. As the inhabitants…
Sodom and Gomorrah? Evidence That a Cosmic Impact Destroyed a Biblical City in the Jordan Valley
An Ancient Disaster In the Middle Bronze Age (about 3,600 years ago or roughly 1650 BCE), the city of Tall el-Hammam was ascendant. Located on…
Meteors Great and Small: NASA Map Shows Detected Fireballs and Their Impact Energy
While the major meteor showers draw the most attention, large and bright fireballs can blaze through the sky at any time of year. Abundant streaks…
Arizona’s Meteor Crater – Scientific Insights From “Young” and Well-Preserved Crater
The “young” and well-preserved crater helps scientists understand cratering processes on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system. Most asteroids that survive an encounter with…
Asteroid Impact Crater on Earth Provides Clues About Martian Craters
Research team led by the University of Göttingen discovers crater floor sagging from bowl-shaped volcanic ash layer. The almost 15-million-year-old Nördlinger Ries is an asteroid…
Potentially Hazardous 4,000 Year Comets Can Cause Meteor Showers on Earth
Researchers report that they can detect showers from the debris in the path of comets that pass close to Earth orbit and return as infrequently…
Planetary Defense Conference: NASA to Participate in Exercise Simulating Asteroid Impact
During the week of April 26, members of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) will participate in a “tabletop exercise” to simulate an asteroid impact scenario. The…
Extra-Terrestrial Particles Discovered in Antarctica Reveal Ancient Meteoritic Impact 430,000 Years Ago
Research led by the University of Kent’s School of Physical Sciences has found new evidence of a low-altitude meteoritic touchdown event reaching the Antarctic ice…
Juno Spacecraft Spots a Bright Explosion in Jupiter’s Atmosphere
From aboard the Juno spacecraft, a Southwest Research Institute-led instrument observing auroras serendipitously spotted a bright flash above Jupiter’s clouds last spring. The Ultraviolet Spectrograph…
Simulating Meteors With ASMODEUS (All-Sky Meteor Optical Detection Efficiency Simulator)
A meteor is a rocky or metallic body that enters the Earth’s atmosphere (or the atmosphere of another planet) from space at high speed and…
Peak of Perseid Showers Captured by European Space Agency’s Meteor Camera [Video]
The LIC1 camera of the Canary Long-Baseline Observatory (CILBO) on Tenerife captured the peak of the 2020 Perseid meteor shower in mid-August, detecting dozens of…