There is a nonzero chance that somewhere in the nearby solar system is a rock that might kill us all. This stony assassin may well be orbiting the sun at this very moment, careening down a celestial ...

Scientists studying asteroids found that two seemingly unrelated types share a strange dusty coating of troilite. By using polarization of light instead of traditional spectra, they uncovered evidence ...

An ultraprecise satellite tasked with mapping more than a billion stars across the galaxy has spotted something fascinating closer to home: 352 asteroids in the solar system that likely have their own ...

The use of nuclear weapons to drive off asteroids has often been used in science fiction, but real-world scientists have often touted the idea of a nuclear asteroid deterrent as a horrible idea. Now, ...

Swirling among the planets in our solar system are pieces of rocky matter called asteroids. Too small to be considered planets, asteroids are a ‘hangover’ from the early formation of the solar system, ...

There are tens of thousands of near-Earth objects (NEOs) that represent some of the most easily accessible resources in the ...

Asteroids are one of the few science fiction threats which might actually darken our planetary doorstep. We can probably safely assume that alien invasion, zombies, and killer robots remain in the ...

Are asteroids a little passé? We're always told they're flying around us and over us. It seems a touch more rare that they smash into, say, Manhattan, or Peoria, Ill. Still, we make movies and video ...

Stephen has degrees in science (Physics major) and arts (English Literature and the History and Philosophy of Science), as well as a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication. Stephen has degrees in ...

Some asteroids can barely hold it together. Rather than solid lumps of rock, ‘rubble pile’ asteroids are loose collections of material, which can split apart as they rotate (SN: 3/16/20). To ...