Asteroids - NASA / JPL

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07/29/09--00:00: NASA to Provide Web Updates on Objects Approaching Earth (chan 1297010)



NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is introducing a new Web site that will provide a centralized resource for information on near-Earth objects - those asteroids and comets that can approach Earth.






08/06/09--00:00: Triple Asteroid System Triples Observers' Interest (chan 1297010)



Radar imaging at NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar on June 12 and 14, 2009, revealed that near-Earth asteroid 1994 CC is a triple system.






08/10/09--00:00: Meteorite Found on Mars Yields Clues About Planet's Past (chan 1297010)



NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity is investigating a metallic meteorite the size of a large watermelon that is providing researchers more details about the Red Planet's environmental history.






08/12/09--00:00: New Near-Earth Object Report from National Research Council (chan 1297010)



In the 2005 NASA Authorization Act, Congress mandated that by 2020 NASA should be capable of detecting at least 90 percent of objects over 140 meters wide in the vicinity of Earth's orbit.






08/17/09--00:00: On the JPL Blog: Comets and Life On Earth (chan 1297010)



With the recent discovery of the amino acid glycine in the comet dust samples returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft, it is becoming a bit more clear how life may have originated on Earth.






08/17/09--00:00: NASA Researchers Make First Discovery of Life's Building Block in Comet (chan 1297010)



NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft.






08/18/09--00:00: Jumping Asteroids (chan 1297010)



How our solar system was formed has fascinated scientists and laymen alike for -- well, for a really, really long time. New research may have answered a piece to the puzzle - how big were the first planetesimals?






09/16/09--00:00: Asteroid Juno Grabs the Spotlight (chan 1297010)



Toward the end of September, the sun will turn a spotlight on the asteroid Juno, giving that bulky lump of rock a rare featured cameo in the night sky.






10/07/09--00:00: NASA Refines Asteroid Apophis' Path Toward Earth (chan 1297010)



Using updated information, NASA scientists have recalculated the path of a large asteroid.






12/09/09--00:00: Best (Meteor) Shower of 2009 - No Towel Required (chan 1297010)



Bundle up and get ready to watch a fiery lightshow stirred up by dead comets in Earth's upper atmosphere during the cold of winter in the dead of night.






01/12/10--00:00: Asteroid To Fly By Earth Wednesday Is a Natural (chan 1297010)



Asteroid 2010 AL30 will fly safely past Earth on Jan. 13. There are those who say it may be a used rocket stage. Not so fast says NASA's Near-Earth Object Office.






01/25/10--00:00: NASA's WISE Eye Spies Near-Earth Asteroid (chan 1297010)



NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has spotted its first never-before-seen near-Earth asteroid, the first of hundreds it is expected to find during its mission to map the whole sky in infrared light.






02/16/10--00:00: Get Set for a Possible Glimpse of an Asteroid (chan 1297010)



The most prominent asteroid in the sky is currently yours for the perusing with binoculars -- and perhaps even the naked eye.






04/06/10--00:00: Asteroid to Fly by Within Moon's Orbit Thursday (chan 1297010)



A newly discovered asteroid, 2010 GA6, will safely fly by Earth this Thursday at 7:06 p.m. Pacific (2:06 U.T.C.).






04/07/10--00:00: Meteor Showers: Shooting for Shooting Stars (chan 1297010)



Meteor showers - one of the many benefits to living on a planet with an atmosphere.






04/15/10--00:00: Wisconsin Fireball Caught On Tape (chan 1297010)



A rooftop webcam at the University of Wisconsin-Madison captured the final seconds of a fireball's Wednesday, April 14 descent into the atmosphere.






04/28/10--00:00: Scientists Say Ice Lurks In Asteroid's Cold Heart (chan 1297010)



Scientists using a NASA funded telescope have detected water-ice and carbon-based organic compounds on the surface of an asteroid.






04/29/10--00:00: Radar Clicks Asteroid's Pic (chan 1297010)



Near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55 was "imaged" by the Arecibo Radar Telescope in Puerto Rico on April 19.






05/13/10--00:00: Asteroid Caught Marching Across Tadpole Nebula (chan 1297010)



A new infrared image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, showcases the Tadpole nebula, and asteroids that just happened to be cruising by.






05/24/10--00:00: WISE Makes Progress on Its Space Rock Catalog (chan 1297010)



NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, is busy surveying the landscape of the infrared sky, building up a catalog of cosmic specimens -- everything from distant galaxies to "failed" stars, called brown dwarfs.






05/27/10--00:00: Small Near-Earth Object Probably a Rocket Part (chan 1297010)



Scientists have determined that a small object that safely passed Earth on May 21 is more than likely an upper-stage of a rocket.






07/09/10--00:00: Heavy Metal Rock Takes Center Stage (chan 1297010)



The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft, with NASA instruments aboard, did a close flyby of asteroid Lutetia on Saturday, July 10.






08/06/10--12:08: How to See the Best Meteor Showers of the Year: Tools, Tips and 'Save the Dates' (chan 1297010)



Insider tips on 2010 and 2011's meteor showers and how to make the most of each opportunity to watch a visitor from space take that final dive.






09/07/10--00:00: Two Asteroids to Pass by Earth Wednesday (chan 1297010)



Two asteroids, several meters in diameter and in unrelated orbits, will pass within the moon's distance of Earth on Wednesday, Sept. 8.






09/08/10--00:00: Tally-Ho! Deep Impact Spacecraft Eyes Comet Target (chan 1297010)



NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft has beamed down the first of over 64,000 images it will be taking of Comet Hartley 2.






09/29/10--00:00: NASA's EPOXI Mission Sets Up for Comet Flyby (chan 1297010)



NASA's EPOXI mission successfully performed a trajectory correction maneuver today. The maneuver refined the spacecraft's orbit for a flyby of comet Hartley 2 on Nov. 4.






10/04/10--00:00: NASA's WISE Mission Warms Up but Keeps Chugging Along (chan 1297010)



After completing its primary mission to map the infrared sky, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has reached the expected end of its onboard supply of frozen coolant.






10/08/10--00:00: NASA Mission to Asteroid Gets Help from Hubble (chan 1297010)



NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured images of the large asteroid Vesta that will help refine plans for the Dawn spacecraft's rendezvous with Vesta in July 2011.






10/11/10--00:00: Small Asteroid to Pass Within Earth-Moon System Tuesday (chan 1297010)



A small asteroid will fly past Earth early Tuesday within the Earth-moon system.






10/19/10--12:10: The Comet Cometh: Hartley 2 Visible in Night Sky (chan 1297010)



A comet that makes its closest approach to Earth this Wednesday, Oct. 20, will be scrutinized even more closely by a NASA spacecraft in a little over two weeks.






10/21/10--12:10: New Cometary Phenomenon Greets Approaching Spacecraft (chan 1297010)



Scientists expected the unexpected during NASA's EPOXI mission flyby of comet Hartley 2. They just didn't expect the unexpected quite so unexpectedly.






10/26/10--00:00: Countdown to Comet Flyby Down to Nine Days (chan 1297010)



NASA's EPOXI mission continues to close in on its target, comet Hartley 2, at a rate of 12.5 kilometers (7.8 miles) per second.






10/27/10--12:10: NASA Spacecraft Preps for Comet Flyby (chan 1297010)



NASA's EPOXI mission has successfully performed one of its final maneuvers as it prepares for a comet flyby on Nov. 4.






10/28/10--12:10: Space Radar Provides a Taste of Comet Hartley 2 (chan 1297010)



A massive space-radar dish in Puerto Rico is providing an appetizing glimpse at a cometary target for a Nov. 4 encounter by NASA's EPOXI mission.






11/01/10--12:11: NASA to Host Live Events for November 4 Comet Encounter (chan 1297010)



NASA will hold a series of news and educational events about the EPOXI mission's close encounter with comet Hartley 2, scheduled to occur at approximately 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT) on Thursday, Nov. 4.






11/01/10--12:11: NASA's Comet Mission May Face Multiple Jets Nov. 4 (chan 1297010)



Images from NASA's EPOXI mission shows jets emanating from comet Hartley 2.






11/02/10--12:11: The Man Behind Comet Hartley 2 (chan 1297010)



Malcolm Hartley has seen a whole lot of the universe over the last 40 years, but he'd never had a close-up view of a comet named after him.






11/02/10--12:11: NASA Spacecraft on Final Approach Toward Comet (chan 1297010)



NASA's EPOXI mission spacecraft steadily approaches its target, comet Hartley 2, as it completes its final flight-path adjustment.






11/04/10--12:11: NASA EPOXI Flyby Reveals New Insights Into Comet Features (chan 1297010)



Scientists say initial images from today's flyby of comet Hartley 2 provide new information about the comet's volume and material spewing from its surface.






11/04/10--12:11: Epoxi Flyby of Comet Hartley 2 Underway (chan 1297010)



Mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have relayed final instructions to their comet-bound spacecraft today, Nov. 3.






11/04/10--12:11: NASA Mission Successfully Flies by Comet Hartley 2 (chan 1297010)



NASA's EPOXI mission successfully flew by comet Hartley 2 at about 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT) today, and the spacecraft has begun returning images. Hartley 2 is the fifth comet nucleus visited by a spacecraft.






11/05/10--12:11: Flight of the Comet (chan 1297010)



This video clip was compiled from images taken by NASA's EPOXI mission spacecraft during its flyby of comet Hartley 2 on Nov. 4.






11/16/10--12:11: How to See the Best Meteor Showers of the Year: Tools, Tips and 'Save the Dates' (chan 1297010)



There are several major meteor showers to enjoy every year at various times, with some more active than others.






11/18/10--12:11: NASA Spacecraft Sees Cosmic Snow Storm During Comet Encounter (chan 1297010)



The EPOXI mission's recent encounter with comet Hartley 2 provided the first images clear enough for scientists to link jets of dust and gas with specific surface features.






11/22/10--12:11: NASA Spacecraft Burns for Another Comet Flyby (chan 1297010)



NASA's Stardust spacecraft fired its rockets to adjust its flight path today, Nov. 22, to set itself up for a flyby of comet Tempel 1 next February.






01/11/11--12:01: NASA Radar Reveals Features on Asteroid (chan 1297010)



This 36-frame video, from NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar, depicts the rotation of asteroid JL33 - an irregular, elongated object roughly 1.8 kilometers (1.1) miles wide.






01/19/11--12:01: NASA Spacecraft Prepares for Valentine's Day Comet Rendezvous (chan 1297010)



NASA's Stardust-NExT spacecraft is nearing a celestial date with comet Tempel 1 at approximately 8:37 p.m. PST (11:37 p.m. EST), on Feb. 14.






01/26/11--12:01: NASA Comet Hunter Spots Its Valentine (chan 1297010)



NASA's Stardust spacecraft is closing in on a Valentine's Day date with comet Tempel 1.






02/01/11--12:02: NASA Stardust Adjusts Flight Path for Comet Meetup (chan 1297010)



NASA's Stardust spacecraft has executed a rocket burn to refine its flight path toward a Valentine's Day comet encounter.






02/01/11--12:02: NASA's NEOWISE Completes Scan for Asteroids and Comets (chan 1297010)



NASA's NEOWISE mission has completed its survey of small bodies, asteroids and comets, in our solar system.






02/08/11--12:02: NASA Hosting Events for Valentine's Night Comet Encounter (chan 1297010)



NASA will host several live activities for the Stardust-NExT mission's close encounter with comet Tempel 1.






02/08/11--12:02: Stardust Celebrates Twelve Years With Rocket Burn (chan 1297010)



NASA's Stardust-NExT mission team on Earth marked the spacecraft's 12th anniversary in space with a flight path correction maneuver.






02/09/11--12:02: Heading Into the Bonus Round -- in Space (chan 1297010)



Stardust-NExT, history's most traveled comet hunter, has a rich legacy of space firsts.






02/10/11--12:02: Five Things About NASA's Valentine's Day Comet (chan 1297010)



Here are five facts about NASA's Stardust-NExT spacecraft as it prepares for a Valentine's "date" with comet Tempel 1. Feel free to sing along!






02/14/11--11:02: The Two Faces of Tempel 1 (chan 1297010)



Whichever part of comet Tempel 1 is facing toward Stardust when the spacecraft zips by the comet tonight should provide some great new science.






02/14/11--12:02: NASA's Stardust-NExT: Valentine's Night Comet Flyby (chan 1297010)



As of about 10 p.m. PST (1 a.m. EST on Feb. 15), NASA's Stardust spacecraft has turned to point its high-gain antenna at Earth and started downlinking data through that antenna.






02/14/11--12:02: NASA's Stardust Spacecraft Completes Comet Flyby (chan 1297010)



Mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., watched as data downlinked from the Stardust spacecraft indicated it completed its closest approach with comet Tempel 1.






02/15/11--12:02: Comet Hunter's First Images on the Ground (chan 1297010)



JPL Mission controllers have begun receiving the first of 72 anticipated images of comet Tempel 1 taken by NASA's Stardust spacecraft.






02/15/11--12:02: NASA Releases Images of Man-Made Crater on Comet (chan 1297010)



NASA's Stardust spacecraft returned new images of a comet showing a scar resulting from the 2005 Deep Impact mission.






03/23/11--12:03: NASA's Stardust: Good to the Last Drop (chan 1297010)



NASA's most traveled comet hunter goes out in style with one final burn of its rocket motors.






03/29/11--12:03: When is an Asteroid Not an Asteroid? (chan 1297010)



When it's Vesta! On the anniversary of Vesta's discovery day, NASA's Dawn mission celebrates this extraordinary hunk of rock.






04/14/11--12:04: Fast-Rotating Asteroid Winks For Astronomer's Camera (chan 1297010)



An amateur astronomer's video of a newly discovered near-Earth object shows the space rock to be tumbling at a fast rate.






05/02/11--12:05: Spacecraft Earth to Perform Asteroid 'Flyby' This Fall (chan 1297010)



NASA spacecraft have already flown past comets and asteroids, and now Earth itself will "fly by" an object that will provide NASA scientists a unique observing opportunity.






05/03/11--00:00: Dawn Reaches Milestone Approaching Asteroid Vesta (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn spacecraft has reached its official approach phase to the asteroid Vesta and will begin using cameras for the first time to aid navigation.






05/04/11--12:05: Comet Elenin: Preview of a Coming Attraction (chan 1297010)



A visitor from the outer reaches of our solar system might sound ominous. But comets do this all the time.






05/11/11--12:05: NASA's Dawn Captures First Image of Nearing Asteroid (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn spacecraft has obtained its first image of the giant asteroid Vesta, which will help fine-tune navigation during its approach.






06/13/11--12:06: Dawn Captures Video on Approach to Asteroid Vesta (chan 1297010)



Scientists working with NASA's Dawn spacecraft have created a new video showing the giant asteroid Vesta as the spacecraft approaches this unexplored world in the main asteroid belt.






06/16/11--00:00: Science Paper Details NASA Epoxi Flyby of Hyper Comet (chan 1297010)



NASA's EPOXI mission found that Comet Hartley 2 is a hyperactive little comet, spewing out more water than most other comets its size.






06/20/11--12:06: NASA Hosts Preview of Visit to Large Asteroid (chan 1297010)



NASA will host a news briefing at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) on Thursday, June 23, to discuss the Dawn spacecraft's year-long visit to the large asteroid Vesta.






06/23/11--12:06: Dawn Nears Start of Year-Long Stay at Giant Asteroid (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on track to begin the first extended visit to a large asteroid.






06/24/11--12:06: Small Asteroid to Whip Past Earth on June 27, 2011 (chan 1297010)



An asteroid designated 2011 MD will safely pass Earth in the early morning hours.






07/07/11--12:07: Dawn Team Members Check out Spacecraft (chan 1297010)



Mission managers for NASA's Dawn spacecraft are studying the spacecraft's ion propulsion system after Dawn experienced a loss of thrust on June 27.






07/14/11--12:07: Comet Hartley 2 Leaves a Bumpy Trail (chan 1297010)



Comet Hartley 2 is a little bit like Hansel and Gretel, leaving behind a trail of ice crumbs as it circles the sun.






07/14/11--12:07: NASA Spacecraft to Enter Asteroid's Orbit on July 15 (chan 1297010)



On July 15, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will begin a prolonged encounter with the asteroid Vesta, making the mission the first to enter orbit around a main-belt asteroid.






07/16/11--12:07: NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Asteroid Vesta (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn spacecraft on Saturday became the first probe ever to enter orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.






07/18/11--12:07: NASA Dawn Spacecraft Returns Close-Up Image of Vesta (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned the first close-up image after beginning its orbit around the giant asteroid Vesta.






07/21/11--12:07: NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Beams Back New Photo (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn mission, in orbit around Vesta, captured the latest image from a distance of about 6,500 miles (10,500 kilometers) kilometers from the giant asteroid.






07/27/11--12:07: NASA's WISE Finds Earth's First Trojan Asteroid (chan 1297010)



Astronomers studying observations taken by NASA's WISE mission have discovered the first known "Trojan" asteroid orbiting the sun along with Earth.






07/28/11--12:07: NASA's Dawn's Spacecraft Views Dark Side of Vesta (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn mission, in orbit around Vesta, captures a new image from a distance of 3,200 miles (5,200) kilometers from the giant asteroid.






08/01/11--12:08: NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Begins Science Orbits of Vesta (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn spacecraft, the first ever to orbit an object in the main asteroid belt, is spiraling towards its first of four intensive science orbits.






08/11/11--12:08: NASA's Asteroid Photographer Beams Back Science Data (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn spacecraft is now in its first science-collecting orbit at Vesta.






08/16/11--12:08: Comet Elenin Poses No Threat to Earth (chan 1297010)



Comet Elenin, like most comets, is harmless. NASA scientists share the facts about Elenin, which will pass at a safe 22 million miles from Earth in October.






09/15/11--12:09: Meteor Likely Cause of Southwest U.S. Light Show (chan 1297010)



A meteor is the most probable cause of a bright, colorful fireball witnessed by people in a wide swath of the southwestern United States.






09/16/11--12:09: NASA's Dawn Collects a Bounty of Beauty from Vesta (chan 1297010)



A new video from NASA's Dawn spacecraft takes us on a flyover journey above the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta.






09/19/11--12:09: Origin of Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Remains a Mystery (chan 1297010)



The family of asteroids some believed was responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs is not likely the culprit according to new observations.






09/26/11--12:09: NASA to Host News Conference on Asteroid Search Findings (chan 1297010)



NASA will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT) on Thurs., Sept. 29, to reveal near-Earth asteroid findings and implications for future research.






09/29/11--12:09: NASA Space Telescope Finds Fewer Asteroids Near Earth (chan 1297010)



New observations by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, show there are significantly fewer near-Earth asteroids in the mid-size range than previously thought.






09/30/11--12:09: NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Begins New Vesta Mapping Orbit (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn spacecraft has completed a gentle spiral into its new science orbit for an even closer view of the giant asteroid Vesta.






10/10/11--12:10: New View of Vesta Mountain From NASA's Dawn Mission (chan 1297010)



A new image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a mountain three times as high as Mt. Everest, amidst the topography in the south polar region of the giant asteroid Vesta.






10/12/11--12:10: NASA's Dawn Science Team Presents Early Science Results (chan 1297010)



Scientists with NASA's Dawn mission have provided details about the southern hemisphere of Vesta, which boasts one of the largest mountains in the solar system.






10/24/11--12:10: NASA Telescopes Help Solve Ancient Supernova Mystery (chan 1297010)



A mystery that began nearly 2,000 years ago, when Chinese astronomers witnessed what would turn out to be an exploding star in the sky, has been solved.






10/25/11--12:10: NASA Says Comet Elenin Gone and Should Be Forgotten (chan 1297010)



Latest indications are this relatively small comet has broken into even smaller, even less significant, chunks of dust and ice.






10/26/11--12:10: NASA in Final Preparations for Nov. 8 Asteroid Flyby (chan 1297010)



NASA scientists will be tracking asteroid 2005 YU55 with antennas of the agency's Deep Space Network at Goldstone, Calif., as the space rock safely flies past Earth slightly closer than the moon's orbit on Nov. 8.






11/07/11--12:11: NASA Captures New Images of Large Asteroid Passing Earth (chan 1297010)



NASA's Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, Calif. has captured new radar images of Asteroid 2005 YU55 passing close to Earth.






11/08/11--12:11: NASA Releases Radar Movie of Asteroid 2005 YU55 (chan 1297010)



Scientists working with the 230-foot-wide (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif., have generated a short movie clip of asteroid 2005 YU55.






11/11/11--12:11: NASA Releases Updated Radar Movie of Asteroid 2005 YU55 (chan 1297010)



NASA Scientists working with the Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif., have released a second, longer, more refined movie clip of asteroid 2005 YU55.






11/30/11--12:11: Dawn Soars Over Asteroid Vesta in 3-D (chan 1297010)



Glide over the giant asteroid Vesta with NASA's Dawn spacecraft in a new 3-D video.






12/01/11--12:12: NASA's Deep Impact Spacecraft Eyes the Future (chan 1297010)



NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft completed a 140-second firing of its onboard rocket motors on Thursday, Nov. 24.






12/05/11--12:12: New NASA Dawn Visuals Show Vesta's 'Color Palette' (chan 1297010)



New color data from NASA's Dawn mission give scientists an inside look at the chemical composition of giant asteroid Vesta.






12/21/11--12:12: Dawn Obtains First Low Altitude Images of Vesta (chan 1297010)



NASA's Dawn spacecraft has sent back the first images of the giant asteroid Vesta from its low-altitude mapping orbit.