Perseids Meteor Shower on the Way – But There’s a Big Problem
Often bringing one of the most vivid annual meteor showers visible in Earth’s night sky, the Perseids will peak on August 12 and 13. Usually,…
Meteors
Unusual Microcrystals Discovered in Meteorite Dust
The strange carbon microcrystals have been studied by scientists from Chelyabinsk State University. On February 15, 2013, above Chelyabinsk in Russia’s Southern Urals, the biggest…
NASA’s $10 Billion Webb Space Telescope Struck by Micrometeoroid
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope sustained an impact to one of its primary mirror segments between May 23 and 25. Our solar system is filled…
All-or-Nothing: Tau Herculids Could Be the Most Powerful Meteor Storm in Generations
If skies are clear, be sure to watch for a potential tau Herculid meteor outburst early Tuesday morning. With a little cosmic luck, we could…
Fragments of a Dying Comet Might Put On a Spectacular Show – Or Pass By Without a Trace
As Earth orbits the Sun, it plows through dust and debris left behind by comets and asteroids. That debris gives birth to meteor showers –…
Spectacular New Tau Herculids Meteor Shower May Light Up the Skies Over North America
Astronomers are excited about the possibility of a new meteor shower on May 30-31, the tau Herculid shower, forecast to peak on the night of…
Loud Fireball: A Fiery Meteor Streaked Across the Mississippi Skies at 55,000 MPH
Loud fireball spotted over southern Mississippi mostly heard, hardly seen. A fiery meteor streaked across the morning skies in southern Mississippi yesterday, April 27, 2022….
US Space Force Releases Decades of “Fireballs” Data to NASA for Planetary Defense Studies
Hosted by JPL’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, the data can be used by the science community to better understand how asteroids break up…
“Chance of Impact 100%” – Fifth Asteroid Ever Discovered Before Impact
A large asteroid has been observed in space before hitting Earth. It’s the fifth known impactor to be detected before it hits the ground and…
Massive Asteroid Impact Crater in Greenland Occurred a Few Million Years After Dinosaurs Went Extinct
Danish and Swedish researchers have dated the enormous Hiawatha impact crater, a 31 km-wide meteorite crater buried under a kilometer of Greenlandic ice. The dating…
Young Impact Crater Uncovered in Yilan, China
The 50,000-year-old crater is relatively young, and only the second discovered in China. Despite China’s large land area, only one impact crater—the relatively small Xiuyan…
Looking for Lightning From Space, Finding Fireballs Entering Earth’s Atmosphere
Researchers are using data from weather satellites to detect meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere. The new year began with a bang in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Early on…
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…
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…
