io9: Asteroids

Is Vesta a giant asteroid or a protoplanet?

Robert T. Gonzalez — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:00:00 PST

Giant asteroid Vesta is so enormous, many astronomers don't even refer to it as an asteroid, preferring to call the celestial body a "protoplanet." This image, which compares Vesta to eight other asteroids that we've sent spacecraft to investigate, helps illustrate the reason such a distinction exists. More »

How to Deflect an Asteroid Attack

Keith Veronese — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:00:00 PST

A 15 kilometer wide asteroid is headed toward the Earth, but NASA scientists spot it three years before impact. Movie lore not withstanding, what the hell are we supposed to do? Could we even organize the global community enough to stop this flaming ball that astronomers call a near-Earth object (NEO)? Let's find out. More »

Bruce Campbell reveals why Ash won't be in the Evil Dead reboot!

Alasdair Wilkins — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:00:00 PST

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Batman takes to the skies in new Dark Knight Rises photos. Tarsem Singh talks up his kinder, gentler Snow White movie. Casting details are revealed for the 300 sequel. Plus John Barrowman reveals his dreams of a Doctor Who movie! More »

Astronomers release even more images of the asteroid that buzzed Earth

Robert T. Gonzalez — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:38:38 PST

Earlier this week, a hunk of rock called asteroid 2005 YU55 came within smashing distance of Earth. It was purported to be the size of an aircraft carrier, and wound up flying by us at a distance of just under 200,000 miles, much closer than the Moon. More »

How to Spot Tomorrow Night's Asteroid Flyby

Robert T. Gonzalez — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:07:45 PST

Tomorrow night, near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55 will pass between our planet and the orbit of the moon, coming within 0.85 lunar distances of the Earth's surface as it courses along its orbit. Astronomers say the object, which measures about 400 meters in diameter, is the largest asteroid to fly this close to home in 35 years. More »

10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Asteroids, Comets & Other Near Earth Objects

Robert T. Gonzalez — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:24:46 PST

Many of you have probably heard about asteroid 2005 YU55, the massive rocky body that tomorrow night will ~~collide with Earth in a ball of flames~~ pass the planet safely, albeit closer than any asteroid in the last 35 years. More »

Embark on a flyover of giant asteroid Vesta from the perspective of NASA's Dawn spacecraft

Robert T. Gonzalez — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:39:13 PDT

Feast your eyes on some of the latest vistas of Vesta, the second-most massive object in our solar system's main asteroid belt. More »

Rhys Ifans reveals how much Lizard we'll see in The Amazing Spider-Man!

Alasdair Wilkins — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:00:00 PDT

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How is Tom Hardy transforming himself for The Dark Knight Rises? New General Zod Michael Shannon discusses Man of Steel. The latest wild rumor promises a surprise supervillain in The Avengers. Plus two unexpected guests for Doctor Who's penultimate episode! More »

Why you're more likely to die from a meteor strike than a lightning strike

Esther Inglis-Arkell — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 07:40:00 PDT

It seems that the best way to predict future behavior is to look at past behavior. But if you had the chance to bet on which is more likely to kill you, lightning or a meteor — then, believe it or not, you should choose the meteor, even though no meteor has ever killed any human. Find out the strange odds, below. More »

Putting a stake in the heart of our astronomical Nemesis

Esther Inglis-Arkell — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:30:00 PDT

There's a popular theory about the comets that wiped out the dinosaurs and caused other cyclical mass extinctions on Earth: they might be under the gravitational control of a star called Nemesis. A new study shows that the entire idea may be a fantasy. More »

First 3D Image of Asteroid Vesta, Captured by NASA's Dawn Spacecraft

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 07:30:00 PDT

If you happen to have some 3D glasses handy, you can get a really nice view of Asteroid Vesta, thanks to this 3D image that NASA uploaded, based on two clear filter images. More »

Asteroids are making Earth's weather unpredictable

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:00:00 PDT

Ceres and Vesta are two of the largest asteroids in the Belt, and their power extends far beyond the band of rocks they inhabit between Jupiter and Mars. Astronomers have discovered that these asteroids' gravitational effects introduced "strong chaos" into the Earth's orbit, making it impossible to know the exact path the Earth took around the sun before 60 million years ago. More »

Incoming house-sized asteroid will skim past Earth on Monday

Jeff Hecht - New Scientist — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 07:30:00 PDT

An asteroid the size of a large house will zip within 12,900 kilometres of the Earth at about midday London time on Monday. More »

Lots more videos for Torchwood: Miracle Day and True Blood. Plus Roland Emmerich is now blowing up Asteroids!

Alasdair Wilkins — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 06:00:00 PDT

Anne Hathaway is taking her fights for The Dark Knight Rises just a little too seriously. John Barrowman discusses a Doctor Who return. What's going on with Zombieland 2? Plus awesome new posters for Harry Potter, Conan, and Super 8! More »

How will NASA sample an asteroid?

Paul Gilster - Centauri Dreams — Sat, 28 May 2011 14:30:00 PDT

Asteroid 1999 RQ36 may or may not pose a future problem for our planet - the chances of an impact with the Earth in 2182 are now estimated at roughly one in 1800. More »

NASA probe will bring back pieces of an asteroid

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 26 May 2011 07:30:00 PDT

Meet OSIRIS-REx, the NASA probe with the kingly name, which will be the first craft to visit an asteroid and bring pieces back to Earth. The probe, whose name stands for Origins Spectral-Interpretation Resource-Identification Security Regolith Explorer, launches in 2016. More »

Check out the aftermath of an asteroid collision

Paul Gilster - Centauri Dreams — Sun, 01 May 2011 09:00:00 PDT

Back in the days when the Solar System seemed a simpler place, asteroids were thought to be chunks of rocks whose features could be explained by impacts with other such objects. More »

To find intelligent life, look for asteroid belt mining operations

Alasdair Wilkins — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:00:00 PDT

The search for alien intelligence has mostly centered on waiting to hear any interstellar radio signals, but we might now have a way to see aliens as well. We just need to look for mega-engineering projects on alien asteroid belts. More »

Slim chance that asteroid named after Stargate villain could hit Earth in 2036, NASA admits

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 08:30:00 PST

Previously, it was only the Russians who were saying that the asteroid Apophis could smash into the Earth in 2036, but now a NASA spokesperson is admitting it's a possibility... albeit a slim one. More »

11 Reasons to be Scared of 2011

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:13:39 PST

There's lots of reason for optimism about the coming year — Game of Thrones! More Doctor Who and Fringe! Dozens of huge movies! But there are also reasons for apprehension. Here's what we're scared could happen this year. More »

The biggest asteroids to pass by Earth, presented as an infographic

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 12:50:55 PDT

Designer Zachary Vabolis has catalogued 17 asteroids over 1000 meters that have skimmed by Earth or will in the near future. Who's coming by next? The 32,000-meter 1036 Ganymed, which whizzes by on October 13, 2011. More »

For the first time, Hubble finds the wreckage of an explosive asteroid collision

Cyriaque Lamar — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:05:00 PDT

When astronomers discovered a mysterious X-shaped object in space last January, they initially thought it was a comet. Further investigation by the Hubble Space Telescope revealed it to be the aftermath of two asteroids smashing into each other. More »

The life and death of an adorable meteor

Meredith Woerner — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 09:30:00 PDT

Watch the entire life span of a freshly born meteor as it comes to terms with life, and its inevitable splashy end. This short film is all too bittersweet. More »

Bureaucratic molasses gums up asteroid apocalypse prevention

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:50:00 PDT

A 2005 congressional mandate requires NASA to record 90% of the 20,000+ near Earth objects (NEOs) sized 140+ meters in diameter. NASA has until 2020 to catalog them but lacks time and funding. Ah, the politics of doomsday prevention. More »

Could humanity's next destination in space be a near-Earth asteroid?

Alasdair Wilkins — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:12:11 PDT

The goal is to get humans to Mars by the mid-2030s, but what are the stepping stones that will get us there? Returning to the Moon gets a lot of publicity, but the better test might be a near-Earth asteroid. More »

Asteroid in gravitational dead zone holds secrets of ancient solar system

Alasdair Wilkins — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:30:00 PDT

A newly-discovered asteroid near Neptune holds several clues about the early formation of our solar system. More »

The Rosetta Probe and its asteroid photos could one day save the planet

Alasdair Wilkins — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:30:00 PDT

The Rosetta Probe is busy in the asteroid belt, snapping unprecedented high-res pictures. These images will enable scientists to figure out the density of various asteroids. That information could save the planet if an asteroid ever heads towards us. More »

Killer-asteroid hunting with the world's largest digital camera

Marc Bernardin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:00:00 PDT

With a 1,400 megapixel camera, a new telescope perched high on Maui's Haleakala volcano peak is capturing pictures of the night sky in unprecedented quality in an attempt to target potential asteroid threats. More »

Japanese probe Hayabusa returns from space with a fistful of asteroid dust

Annalee Newitz — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:47:21 PDT

Today the space probe Hayabusa returned to Earth after seven years in space studying an asteroid. Already it has sent back hundreds of pictures, and has splashed down near Australia bearing chunks of the small asteroid Itokawa. More »

Scientists Discover Giant Asteroid Covered In Ice

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 03 May 2010 10:30:00 PDT

24 Themis is one of the largest asteroids in the asteroid belt, and researchers recently discovered that it's entirely coated in a thin layer of ice. It may be a remnant of the frozen space rocks that created Earth's oceans. More »

Why Nuking A Killer Asteroid Won't Work

Graeme McMillan — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:00:50 PST

It's the thrilling climax to many asteroid apocalypse movies, but it doesn't stand up to science. Apparently, blowing up a large object in space comes with its own problems... not the least of which is, it probably won't work. More »

Earth Is Threatened By Dark Asteroids

Graeme McMillan — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:00:57 PST

Earth may be in even more danger than scientists expected. A new telescope has discovered sixteen previously-unknown asteroids in orbit around us in its first six weeks of use, with possibly a hundred times more expected to be found soon. More »

Will Asteroid Mining Destroy The Chinese Economy?

Annalee Newitz — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:00:00 PST

Instead of sending people to the Moon, the US space program is sending robots to the Asteroid Belt. When these robots discover metals in the Belt, how will it affect the economy of Earth? More »

X-Shaped Faux-Comet Likely Related to Prehistoric Dinosaur-Smasher

Alex Eichler — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:00:24 PST

P/2010 A2, the mysterious object streaking through the solar system, appears to belong to the same family of asteroids that sent a huge rock our way 65 million years ago. Maybe it's trying to see whether Tyrannosaurs have re-evolved? More »

Newly Discovered "Comet" May Actually Be Result Of Asteroid Collision

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:30:00 PST

We may have witnessed what happens after a high-speed asteroid crash for the first time ever. A mystery "comet" in the asteroid belt, P/2010 A2, is now believed to be asteroid-collision debris. The "comet"'s head includes an asteroid fragment. More »

Did Meteors Cause Life On Earth?

Graeme McMillan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:00:38 PST

Are asteroids responsible for the creation of life on Earth? Recent experiments back up a theory that the basic ingredients for life came from beyond the stars... which makes us all aliens. Battlestar Galactica was right! More »

Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected

Lauren Davis — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:00:00 PDT

Although NASA vigilantly searches the skies, dozens of near-Earth asteroids remain undetected, any one of which could strike our planet and cause devastating damage. But better detection will mean more facilities and better equipment — and a lot more money. More »

New Videos From Gamer, G.I. Joe And Time Traveler's Wife, Plus The Plot Of Asteroids: The Movie!

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:00:00 PDT

Spoilers go on forever! The producer of Asteroids explains that movie's plot. Plus there's a new Gamer clip, and a predatory new Jennifer's Body pic. Also: G.I. Joe, G-Force, The Prisoner, Time Traveler's Wife, Green Hornet and 2012 spoilers! More »

Already, A Toy-Based Movie Even Weirder Than Asteroids

Graeme McMillan — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:00:31 PDT

Never mind the Asteroids movie... there just may be a movie being worked on that comes from an even less likely toy origin. Are they really making a movie based on Viewmaster? More »

Movie Based On Asteroids Game Will Boggle Your Mind

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:58:54 PDT

Though Hollywood excels in making plotless movies, the sale of Asteroids to Universal breaks new ground. The people who are bringing you GI Joe this month are about to make a movie about a triangle shooting a bunch of blobs. More »