Looking up at the asteroids in the neighborhood
Asteroids fly through our solar system all the time, but it's rare for us to take notice of them. But that's changed this week, as an asteroid passes within 1,231,184 miles of Earth on January 18. The asteroid, dubbed 7482 (1994 PC1), was first seen.....»»
Radiation should be able to deflect asteroids as large as 4 km across
Researchers blast silica with an intense X-ray burst, watch it evaporate. Enlarge / Sandia National Labs' Z machine in action. (credit: Randy Montoya) The old joke about the dinosaurs going extinct because they didn't ha.....»»
Proof-of-concept study uses X-rays to target mock-up asteroids in a vacuum
An X-ray pulse may be able to vaporize the surface of an asteroid and change its trajectory, according to a proof-of-concept paper published in Nature Physics. A laboratory experiment that mimics the deflection of an asteroid model using this techniq.....»»
Giant sinkholes in a South Dakota neighborhood make families fear for their safety
Giant sinkholes in a South Dakota neighborhood make families fear for their safety.....»»
Woman who plugged pipe, flooded neighborhood ordered to make repair in 10 days
Woman who plugged pipe, flooded neighborhood ordered to make repair in 10 days.....»»
Why Do So Many Tiny Asteroids Have Moons?
Scientists are putting a new spin on the creation of binary asteroids.....»»
NASA watches a peanut-shaped asteroid drift past Earth
Peanuts! Get your peanuts here! The solar system has been passing out peanuts lately in the form of two different oddly shaped asteroids that recently passed by Earth, and both look like over-sized peanuts......»»
New fossil fish species scales up evidence of Earth"s evolutionary march
Climate change and asteroids are linked with animal origin and extinction—and plate tectonics also seems to play a key evolutionary role, "groundbreaking" new fossil research reveals......»»
Strolling around a Singapore town: What makes a neighborhood ideal for walking?
Modern lifestyle is increasingly sedentary, raising concerns about its impact on our health. To cultivate healthier lifestyles among citizens, cities like Singapore has responded with various initiatives. One focus area is active mobility, in which p.....»»
Engineers smash rocks to see what occurs when top layer of an asteroid-like object is hit with extreme external force
Johns Hopkins engineers have uncovered new details about how granular materials such as sand and rock behave under extreme impacts—findings that could someday help protect the Earth from dangerous asteroids......»»
Study links gentrification to reduced crime, but downsides of gentrification can"t be ignored
Neighborhood gentrification in Buffalo between 2011 and 2019 was associated with a decrease in property crime, independent of a general decrease in similar crime city-wide during those same years, according to a University at Buffalo study......»»
The evolution of the Trappist-1 planetary system
Planets are bodies that orbit a star and have sufficient gravitational mass that they form themselves into roughly spherical shapes that, in turn, exert gravitational force on smaller objects around them, such as asteroids and moons......»»
NASA just shut down a planetary defense mission that tracks asteroids. Now what?
Launched in 2011, NASA's NEOWISE mission operated in Earth's orbit until late last week. It detected more than 3,000 near-Earth objects or NEOs—asteroids or comets whose orbits can bring them close to Earth, even with the possibility of a collision.....»»
Gaia data shows hundreds of tiny moons orbiting around asteroids
New data about binary asteroids comes from ESA's Gaia mission, a space-based telescope which has spotted new potential moons around 350 asteroids......»»
As burglars torment L.A. neighborhood, anxious residents consider buying guns, hiring security
As burglars torment L.A. neighborhood, anxious residents consider buying guns, hiring security.....»»
Gaia spots possible moons around hundreds of asteroids
ESA's star-surveying Gaia mission has again proven to be a formidable asteroid explorer, spotting potential moons around more than 350 asteroids not known to have a companion......»»
NASA Retires Asteroid-Hunting Telescope
NASA’s NEOWISE telescope has searched for asteroids, brown dwarfs and luminous galaxies. The spacecraft will soon burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.....»»
Smell reports reveal the need to expand urban air quality monitoring, say researchers
Ever wondered if your neighborhood odor could be impacting your health? University of British Columbia researchers have uncovered surprising insights into the Vancouver region's "smellscape" using data from the Smell Vancouver app. Analyzing 549 repo.....»»
A pair of CubeSats using ground penetrating radar could map the interior of near-Earth asteroids
Characterizing near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) is critical if we hope to eventually stop one from hitting us. But so far, missions to do so have been expensive, which is never good for space exploration......»»
Stepping stones for wildlife: How linking up isolated habitats can help nature thrive in our cities
Imagine you're a fairywren living in a patch of scrub behind a schoolyard in the suburbs. It's been pretty nice so far, but a recent increase in neighborhood cats and the council's insect control tactics mean it's time to look for somewhere safer to.....»»
A hopping robot could explore Europa using locally harvested water
Various forms of hopping robots have crept into development for use in different space exploration missions. We've reported on their use on asteroids and even our own moon. But a study funded by NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) in 2018 p.....»»