Space, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 9, 2022

'Rubber-ducky' asteroid 200 million miles away holds building blocks of life

For the first time, scientists have found the building blocks for life on an asteroid in space. Japanese researchers have discovered more than 20 amino acids on the space rock Ryugu, which is more than 200 million miles from Earth. Scientists made the first-of-its-kind detection by studying samples retrieved from...

Jul 6, 2022

Scientists just detected a bus-sized asteroid that will fly extremely close to Earth tonight

A small asteroid the size of a bus will make an extremely close approach to Earth on Thursday (July 7), passing within just 56,000 miles (90,000 kilometers) — or about 23% of the average distance between Earth and the moon. And just a few days ago, no one knew it...

Jul 8, 2022

NASA spacecraft touched an asteroid, and the surface was 'fluffy'

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission unleashed an unexpected explosion when it touched down on asteroid Bennu in October 2020 to collect a precious sample to carry home to Earth. Mission scientists have described the dramatic sample retrieval, which led to surprising discoveries about the asteroid's nature, in two new studies. And the...

Jul 15, 2022

Skyscraper-size asteroid will blaze past Earth in a close approach this Sunday

An asteroid the size of a 50-story skyscraper will zoom past Earth Sunday (July 17), making its closest approach to our planet in nearly 100 years. The meaty space rock, dubbed 2022 KY4, will safely miss Earth by about 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers), or more than 16 times...

Jul 28, 2022

Two skyscraper-size asteroids are barreling toward Earth this weekend

Two skyscraper-size asteroids are zooming toward Earth this weekend, with one making its closest approach on Friday (July 29) and the second whizzing by on Saturday (July 30). The first asteroid, dubbed 2016 CZ31, will fly by around 7 p.m. ET (23:00 GMT) on Friday, whizzing at an estimated 34,560...

Aug 5, 2022

Surprise! Asteroid wider than 2 football fields is barreling toward Earth tonight

An asteroid wider than two football fields will zoom past Earth in the wee hours of Thursday (Aug. 4). The asteroid is set to pass at 12:23 a.m. (ET). NASA astronomers discovered the asteroid, known as 2022 OE2, just days ago, on July 26. The meaty space rock is estimated...

Aug 10, 2022

A 'potentially hazardous' blue-whale-size asteroid will zip through Earth's orbit on Friday

A potentially hazardous asteroid the size of a blue whale is set to zip past Earth on Friday (Aug. 12), according to NASA. The asteroid, named 2015 FF, has an estimated diameter between 42 and 92 feet (13 and 28 meters), or about the body length of an adult blue...

Aug 15, 2022

Ancient asteroids are covered with popcorning pebbles, new study finds

In 2019, when NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft approached the asteroid Bennu, scientists saw something stunning in the images beamed back to Earth. The surface of the space rock wasn't calm — instead, swarms of marble-sized rocks were popcorning off the asteroid. Now, a new study of a meteorite that landed on...

Sep 9, 2022

NASA's asteroid-slamming DART spacecraft catches 1st look at target (photo)

That's no moon. That's a moonlet. NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft just beamed back the first image of its target, the moonlet Dimorphos, as well as its body it orbits, the asteroid Didymos. DART is a planetary defense test mission designed to impact the moonlet to alter its...

Sep 20, 2022

Blazing fireball illuminates skies over Scotland and Northern Ireland

A bright fireball streaked across the sky late at night on Sept. 14 in the U.K.. At first, some observers thought the whizzing ball of light could have been a piece of space junk, perhaps from one of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. But after some speedy calculations, the U.K. Meteor Network...

Sep 22, 2022

NASA will smash its DART spacecraft into an asteroid on Monday. Here's how to watch.

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft is set to slam into an asteroid on Monday (Sept. 26), in the first ever test of humanity's ability to deflect life-threatening space rocks before they collide with Earth. The 1,210-pound (550 kilograms) DART craft, a squat cube-shaped probe consisting of sensors, an...

Sep 27, 2022

NASA just redirected an asteroid by smashing a spacecraft into it

NASA has intentionally slammed a spacecraft into an asteroid in the first ever test of Earth’s planetary defense system. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft smashed into the asteroid Dimorphos at 7:14 p.m. ET on Monday (Sept. 26) in humanity’s first attempt to alter an asteroid’s trajectory. NASA believes...

Sep 27, 2022

Watch NASA's DART spacecraft hit 'bullseye' by smashing into an asteroid

NASA's asteroid smashing spacecraft completed its spectacular doomed attack on a distant asteroid last night, and we already have three awe-inspiring videos of the event. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft collided with the 7 million mile (11 million kilometer) distant asteroid Dimorphos at 7:14 p.m. ET on Monday...

Sep 30, 2022

Could an asteroid destroy Earth?

After dominating the Earth for more than 160 million years, the dinosaurs finally met their doom thanks to a visitor from space. Around 66 million years ago, an asteroid measuring at least 6 miles (10 kilometers) across dealt the dinosaurs' world a devastating blow, triggering earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and...

Oct 18, 2022

Bizarre near-Earth asteroid is spinning faster every year — and scientists aren’t sure why

A potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid is spinning faster and faster every year, and researchers aren't sure why. The space rock, known as 3200 Phaethon, is around 3.4 miles (5.4 kilometers) wide, and its orbit through the solar system takes it closer to the sun than any other named asteroid, reaching...