Asteroids
There are no planets between Mars and Jupiter, just a band of debris called the asteroid belt. Most are just a few metres in length, but the largest asteroid, Ceres, is 945km in diameter and is often classified as a dwarf planet. NASA's space probe Dawnhas recently started orbiting Ceres. Asteroid impact is currently the best theory for why the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. The 1998 Bruce Willis movie Armageddon fuelled concerns that a near-Earth asteroid, such as Apophis, might collide with the Earth again.
Meet the team tasked with saving Earth from world-ending asteroids
When asteroids come tearing towards Earth, we rely on ESA's planetary defence team to save us from disaster
Scientists may have just solved one of space’s biggest mysteries
Why carbon-rich asteroids rarely reach the ground may hold the key to our cosmic origin story.
Armageddon defence system: The new missions that could protect Earth from world-killing asteroids
Could we deflect an asteroid to stop it from hitting Earth? The success of NASA’s DART mission suggests so, but only after ESA’s soon-to-launch Hera mission has checked the results will we know if this approach to planetary defence is a viable possibility.
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Asteroid on Earth collision course could spark global winter, warn experts
Bennu, the near-Earth asteroid, is giving scientists reason for concern.
Our chances of finding alien life just skyrocketed. Here’s why
Samples from the asteroid Bennu could not only give us insights into life on Earth but also the potential for more across the Universe.
This bold new space mission will intersect ‘incoming asteroid’ heading towards Earth
This is a rare opportunity to study an asteroid at close quarters.
Five ‘near-miss’ asteroids, including one ‘city-killer’, to approach Earth today
An asteroid potentially the length of 30 London buses will whizz past Earth today while you're having your Valentine's brunch. And it’s only one of five asteroids making a close approach today.
NASA Psyche mission launch live: When and how to watch the SpaceX liftoff
Set to visit a giant metal asteroid to investigate material left over from the early solar system, Pscyhe is an exciting new NASA mission.
Asteroid Bennu could shatter Earth. Here’s how Sunday’s OSIRIS-REx mission will stop it
There’s a higher chance of the asteroid striking the Earth than you finding a four-leaf clover. Scientists have 160 years to deflect it.
OSIRIS-REx landing: When and how to watch NASA's Bennu asteroid sample return to Earth
Nasa’s first-ever asteroid sample-return mission will land on Earth this Sunday.
Could an asteroid impact ever change Earth’s orbit?
The impact an asteroid could have on Earth depends on many things including velocity, angle and geology.
How do the rocks stay on the surface of Dimorphos?
Dimorphos is a small moon that orbits the asteroid Didymos, and the target of NASA's DART mission in September 2022.
Asteroid sneak attack: Why Earth is under threat from tiny city-destroying space rocks
History has shown that even small asteroids can cause a significant amount of damage - and we can't even detect them.
Where were my body's atoms a million years ago?
Travel back in time and discover the surprising origin story of the atoms that make up your body - a million years in the making.
Japanese asteroid-hunter collects alien vitamins sample
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft spent a year and a half gathering rock samples from the asteroid Ryugu.
DART: Everything you need to know about NASA’s mission to deflect an asteroid
On 27 September the space agency deliberately crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid as part of its planetary defence programme.
NASA is ready to test tech that could save the Earth from devastating asteroid impact
The space agency's DART spacecraft will attempt to knock a passing asteroid off its path.
Meteor, asteroid and comet: What’s the difference?
Know your meteorite from your meteoroid with our handy guide.
Dinosaur fossils discovered from the day the asteroid hit Earth
The discovery could prove once and for all that an asteroid impact 66 million years ago wiped out the dinosaurs.
Earth has a new companion asteroid that will share our orbit for 4,000 years
It’s much bigger than the only other known Trojan asteroid, and is leading the way as we orbit the Sun.
Huge 1km-wide asteroid will pass by Earth today
Asteroid (7482) 1994 PC1, which measures the same as three Eiffel Towers, will make its closest approach at 9:51pm tonight.
Has an object ever left Earth’s atmosphere through natural means?
Many pieces of space rock have been found on Earth but there may be one single piece from Earth discovered elsewhere.
Psyche: The metal mini-world that could change everything we know about the Solar System
There’s a giant metal asteroid floating out beyond Mars that might be the core of a planet that was smashed to smithereens aeons ago. NASA’s sending a probe to find out, but a positive answer could cause even bigger problems.
How can we tell that a meteorite has come from a particular planet?
Asked by: Rodney Minns, Liphook, Hampshire