A FAST RESPONSE INTERCEPTOR SPACECRAFT TO STUDY INTERSTELLAR VISITORS LIKE OUMUAMUA

OUMUAMUA

Oumuamua is the first known interstellar object detected passing through the solar system. When Astronomers first detected it in the year 2017, it was too late to study it properly. But within that brief period, it exhibited some unexpected properties which left astronomers scratching their heads. Its elongated shape, lack of coma and facts that … Read more

ASTEROID 16 PSYCHE MIGHT NOT BE WHAT SCIENTISTS EXPECTED

asteroid 16 psyche

The widely studied metallic asteroid known as 16 Psyche was long thought to be the exposed iron core of a small planet that failed to form during the solar system’s earliest days. But new University of Arizona-led research suggests that the asteroid might not be as metallic or dense as once thought and hints at … Read more

SECRETS OF ASTEROID RYUGU

Ryugu’s interaction with the sun changes what we know about asteroid history. In February and July of 2019, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft briefly touched down on the surface of near-Earth asteroid Ryugu. The readings it took with various instruments at those times have given researchers insight into the physical and chemical properties of the 1-kilometer-wide asteroid. These findings could help expla

NASA’s NEIL GEHRELS SWIFT OBSERVATORY TRACKS WATER LOSS FROM INTERSTELLAR COMET 2I/BORISOV

Astronomers using NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory have tracked water loss from 2I/Borisov, the first known interstellar comet to visit our Solar System, as it approached and rounded the Sun. Their findings were published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

SCIENTISTS FIND A SUPERCONDUCTOR IN BITS OF METEORITE

meteor shower

The discovery is just the latest to show that meteorites are much more than space debris that falls out of the sky. Recent investigations have turned up meteorite-borne deliveries of possible extraterrestrial proteins, minerals and materials older than the Solar System itself. But we have never seen anything quite like this before.

WHY STUDY ASTEROIDS?

The scientific interest in asteroids is largely due to their status as the remnant debris from the inner solar system formation process. Because some of these objects can collide with the Earth, asteroids are also important for having significantly modified the Earth’s biosphere in the past. They will continue to do so in the future. … Read more