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…
Meteors
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…
Perseids Peak Tonight: NASA Viewing Tips to Watch Best Meteor Shower of the Year
The Perseid meteor shower is here! With Comet NEOWISE making its way out of the solar system, it is time for a celestial show caused…
Building Blocks of Life Revealed in Solar System’s Oldest Molecular Fluids?
Scientists reveal solar system’s oldest molecular fluids could hold the key to early life. The oldest molecular fluids in the solar system could have supported…
Evidence of a Cosmic Impact That Destroyed One of the World’s Earliest Human Settlements
Before the Taqba Dam impounded the Euphrates River in northern Syria in the 1970s, an archaeological site named Abu Hureyra bore witness to the moment…
‘Spectacular Meteorite Fall’ of Flensburg Reveals Liquid Water Existed in Early Solar System
Planetologists show that the meteorite contains minerals that formed under the presence of water on small planetesimals in the early history of our solar system….
Australian Meteor Crater Is the Oldest Known According to NASA Analysis
The Earth is pocked with roughly 190 major meteor craters, yet scientists only know the age of just a few. Recently, A NASA scientist analyzed…
Cosmic Fireball Lights Up the Entire Coast Near Seaside Town – Here’s What Happened
On January 21, 2020, a foreign body crashed to Earth causing a cascade of bright light to trail through the sky. The fleeting flash was…