Tag Archive for 'Near-Earth asteroid'

This image shows OSIRIS-REx’s collector head hovering over the Sample Return Capsule after the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism arm moved it into the proper position for capture. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / University of Arizona / Lockheed Martin.

OSIRIS-REx Stows Sample of Asteroid Bennu’s Regolith

Oct 30, 2020 by News Staff

On October 28, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully stowed its Sample Return Capsule (SRC) with a sample of surface material from the near-Earth...

This image from OSIRIS-REx’s SamCam camera shows that the spacecraft’s sampler head is full of rocks and dust collected from the surface of Bennu. Image credit: NASA.

OSIRIS-REx Collects Sufficient Sample of Asteroid Bennu’s Regolith

Oct 26, 2020 by News Staff

During the ‘Touch-And-Go’ sample collection event on October 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected more than enough surface material (at...

An artist concept of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Image credit: NASA / Goddard.

New Images Show OSIRIS-REx’s Sample Collection on Bennu

Oct 23, 2020 by News Staff

Stunning new images, taken by the SamCam imager onboard NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on October 20, 2020, show the historic Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample...

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft readies itself to touch the surface of the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / University of Arizona.

OSIRIS-REx Attempts to Collect Sample of Near-Earth Asteroid Bennu

Oct 21, 2020 by News Staff

On October 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) spacecraft briefly touched...

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at asteroid Bennu. Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

New Studies Detail Complex History of Near-Earth Asteroid Bennu

Oct 9, 2020 by News Staff

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) mission to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu is...

(3122) Florence will pass safely by Earth on September 1, at a distance of about 4.4 million miles. Image credit: University of Colorado.

Asteroid 2020 SW Flew Safely Past Earth Today

Sep 24, 2020 by News Staff

A small near-Earth asteroid designated 2020 SW made its closest approach to Earth today at 7:12 a.m. EDT (4:12 a.m. PDT) at a distance of about 22,000...

The bright boulders (circled in the images) on the surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu are pyroxene-rich material from Vesta; some bright material appear to be individual rocks (left) while others appear to be clasts within larger boulders (right). Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / University of Arizona.

OSIRIS-REx Finds Fragments of Minor Planet Vesta on Near-Earth Asteroid Bennu

Sep 22, 2020 by News Staff

In 2019, scientists from the OSIRIS-REx team discovered several unusually bright boulders on the surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu in images acquired...

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on a mission to explore the asteroid Bennu and return a sample to Earth. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab.

OSIRIS-REx Team Explores Activity of Asteroid Bennu

Sep 10, 2020 by News Staff

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, launched in 2016, is currently orbiting the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu with the aim of briefly touching on the...

2020 QG (circled streak) was detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility on August 16, 2020. Image credit: ZTF / Caltech Optical Observatories.

Tiny Near-Earth Asteroid Makes Closest Fly-By of Earth on Record

Aug 19, 2020 by News Staff

A small near-Earth asteroid designated 2020 QG safely flew past our planet on August 16 at 12:08 a.m. EDT (August 15 at 9:08 p.m. PDT) at a distance of...

Hayabusa-2 image of the asteroid Ryugu as seen from a distance of 3.7 miles. A particularly large crater is visible near the center of the image. Image credit: JAXA / University of Tokyo / Kochi University / Rikkyo University / Nagoya University / Chiba Institute of Technology / Meiji University / University of Aizu / AIST.

Hayabusa-2 Reveals Surface of Near-Earth Asteroid Ryugu in Stunning Detail

May 11, 2020 by News Staff

JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 spacecraft recently traveled to the near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu to collect samples and return them to Earth for lab analysis....

2020 CD3 is estimated to be only between one and six meters across. Image credit: Jonny Lindner.

Earth Has New, Temporary Moon: 2020 CD3

Feb 27, 2020 by The Conversation

The Minor Planet Centre has just announced that our planet has been orbited by a second moon for the past three years or so. Designated 2020 CD3, the object...

Range-Doppler radar image (colorized) of the binary near-Earth asteroid 2020 BX12. Image credit: Arecibo Observatory.

Arecibo Observatory Reveals Near-Earth Asteroid 2020 BX12 Has Large Moon

Feb 20, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers using a radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory have captured the first images of the recently-discovered near-Earth asteroid 2020 BX12....

This image (colorized), taken by the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON), shows the near-Earth asteroid 2019 OK. Image credit: S. Schmalz / ISON.

Astronomers Snap Images of Near-Earth Asteroid 2019 OK

Aug 7, 2019 by News Staff

Using several telescopes of the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON), astronomers have captured a series of images of the recently-discovered...

An illustration of an asteroid in space. Image credit: NASA / JPL / Caltech.

Big Asteroid Buzzed Past Earth Last Week: 2019 OK

Jul 31, 2019 by The Conversation

A 330-foot- (100 m) wide asteroid designated 2019 OK passed just 43,500 miles (70,000 km) from Earth on July 25, 2019. It was discovered by the Brazilian...

This image of the asteroid Ryugu was captured by the Optical Navigation Camera - Telescopic (ONC-T) on JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 spacecraft on June 26, 2018, from a distance of 13.7 miles (22 km). Image credit: JAXA / University of Tokyo / Kochi University / Rikkyo University / Nagoya University / Chiba Institute of Technology / Meiji University / Aizu University / AIST.

Asteroid Ryugu: First Science Results from JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 Mission

Mar 22, 2019 by News Staff

In June 2018, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) spacecraft and sample return mission Hayabsua-2 arrived at the near-Earth asteroid 162173...

This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 images collected on December 2, 2018 by OSIRIS-REx’s PolyCam instrument from a range of 15 miles (24 km). Image credit: NASA / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / University of Arizona.

Asteroid Bennu is Spinning Faster over Time, New Study Shows

Mar 14, 2019 by News Staff

Bennu — the target of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft...

These three radar images of near-Earth asteroid 2003 SD220 were obtained on December 15-17, 2018. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / GSSR / NSF / GBO.

Asteroid 2003 SD220 Makes Close Approach to Earth

Dec 24, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers working with NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Network, NSF’s Green Bank Telescope and Arecibo Observatory’s 1,000-foot (305-m) antenna have...

An artist’s illustration of what the near-Earth asteroid Phaethon might look like up close. Image credit: Heather Roper.

Astronomers Puzzle Over Rare Blue Asteroid That Sometimes Behaves Like Comet

Nov 7, 2018 by News Staff

A large near-Earth asteroid called (3200) Phaethon is known to be blue in color and sometimes act like a comet. Using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility...

An artist’s impression of MASCOT during landing. Image credit: DLR.

Asteroid Lander MASCOT Completes Exploration of Ryugu

Oct 12, 2018 by News Staff

The Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT), a lander carried by JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 spacecraft, successfully completed its historic exploration of the...

A bi-static radar image of the binary asteroid 2017 YE5 from the Arecibo Observatory and the Green Bank Observatory on June 25, 2018. Image credit: Arecibo / GBO / NSF / NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Astronomers Spot Rare Binary Asteroid: 2017 YE5

Jul 13, 2018 by News Staff

New observations by NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar in California, Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia...

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