Tag Archives: asteroid

What can preparing for an asteroid impact teach us about climate change?

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When it comes to natural disasters, it is often impossible to predict them more than a few months or even days in advance. We cannot say, “Let's prepare because an earthquake will occur within two years.'' But one of the few things we can really prepare for is an asteroid impact.

Although no one has yet discovered a large asteroid on a collision course with Earth, scientists, engineers, and policymakers are working on plans to defend the planet in the event it does. Techniques to avoid disaster are already being tested, such as impacting asteroids to change their orbits, as NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test Mission did successfully in 2022.

One of the most surprisingly useful planetary defense tools is running a role-playing game. This reveals roadblocks that can derail even the best-laid plans. Paul Chodas of NASA, who runs some of these exercises, says they reveal problems that would never have been considered otherwise. In our special feature, “If an asteroid is heading towards Earth, can we avoid disaster?”you can try such games yourself.

Compared to other existential threats, the risk from asteroids is relatively small

It goes without saying that factors such as the size of rocks coming from space and how quickly they are discovered have a major impact on whether disasters can be successfully avoided. So is the ability to communicate effectively. different options. These are important lessons that go beyond just protecting yourself from asteroids.

Compared to other existential threats, the risk of an asteroid coming our way is relatively small. Climate change is already happening. Pandemics have occurred regularly throughout human history, and global warming has made them even more likely. We know that these involve technical challenges, such as the development and deployment of green technologies, but the social challenges are equally important.

Only with effective global cooperation and communication can humanity tackle its greatest challenges. That's as true in the Asteroid Roleplaying Game as it is in real life.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

New Hera probe sent to study asteroid target of NASA’s previous experiment

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On Monday, a spacecraft was launched to investigate. Space collision site.

The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft was rocket-launched on a two-year journey to the small, harmless asteroid it crashed into. Two years ago, NASA During that day’s dress rehearsal, a killer space stone threatens Earth. The experiment, launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral, is the second in a series of planetary defense tests that could one day save the planet.

Crash in 2022 NASA dart spacecraft This shortens Dimorphos’ orbit around its larger brethren, indicating that if a dangerous rock is headed in our direction, it can be thrown off course with sufficient advance notice. I did.

Scientists want to study the impact’s aftermath up close to learn exactly how effective Dart was and what changes are needed to protect the planet in the future.

“The more details we can gather, the more details we can gather because it could be important in planning future deflection missions if they are needed,” University of Maryland astronomer Derek Richardson said before the launch. It’s good enough.”

Researchers want to know whether Dart (short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test) left behind a crater or changed the shape of the 500-foot (150-meter) asteroid more dramatically. Richardson, who participates in the dart mission and supports Hera, said that before the dart was shot, it looked like a flying saucer, but now it may resemble a kidney bean.

ESA’s Hera mission lifted off at 10:52 a.m. Monday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
S. Korbach / ESA

The flurry of darts sent debris and even rocks flying from Dimorphos, further increasing the force of the impact. The debris trail stretched thousands of miles (more than 10,000 kilometers) into space over several months.

Flight director Ignacio Tanco said rocks and other debris may still be floating around the asteroid, posing a potential threat to Hera.

“We don’t really know what kind of environment we’re going to operate in,” Tanko says. “But the whole point of this mission is to go out there and find out.”

European officials described the $400 million (363 million euro) mission as an “investigation of the accident scene.”

Project manager Ian Carnelli said Hera was “returning to the crime scene and obtaining all the scientific and technical information”.

Hera, which is about the size of a small car and carries more than a dozen scientific instruments, needs to fly past Mars in 2025 to increase its gravity and reach Dimorphos by the end of 2026. This is a satellite of the fast-spinning asteroid Didymos, which means twins in Greek. It’s 5 times bigger. At that point, the asteroid will be 120 million miles (195 million kilometers) from Earth.

Hera, controlled by a flight team in Darmstadt, Germany, will attempt to enter orbit around the pair of rocks as its flight range gradually decreases from 18 miles (30 kilometers) to half a mile (1 kilometer). The spacecraft will study the satellite for at least six months, determining its mass, shape, composition, and orbit around Didymos.

Before impact, Dimorphos circled its larger mate from three-quarters of a mile (1,189 meters) away. Scientists believe the orbit could become tighter and more elliptical, potentially even causing the satellite to fall off.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

2024 RW1: Tiny asteroid strikes Earth and disintegrates above the Philippines

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Predicted trajectory of asteroid CAQTDL2 over the Philippines

Catalina Sky Survey/ESA

The asteroid struck Earth and burned up in the atmosphere east of the Philippines. Astronomers spotted it just hours before it streaked across the sky in a bright fireball, but many on the ground couldn’t see it because of cloudy skies caused by Typhoon Enteng.

The asteroid, estimated to be about one meter in diameter, was a NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey. It was originally designated CAQTDL2 and was later renamed 2024 RW1.

As expected, the asteroid struck the east of the northernmost island of the Philippine archipelago at around 1645 GMT, 1745 London time, 1245 New York time, or 0045 local time. The impact speed was predicted to be 17.6 kilometers per second, or 63,360 kilometers per hour. Alan Fitzsimmons. That’s average for such an object, says a researcher at Queen’s University in Belfast, UK. “Don’t be fooled by Hollywood movies where you see something screaming into the sky and you have time to run out the house, grab your cat, hop in your car and drive somewhere. You don’t have time for that,” he says.

Asteroid CAQTDL2 can be seen moving across the sky in a purple circle.

Catalina Sky Survey

Luckily, no evacuations were necessary: NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office posted on social media that the asteroid “safely impacted Earth’s atmosphere.”

“Something that small wouldn’t do any damage on the ground because the Earth’s atmosphere blocks that,” Fitzsimmons said. Video shared on social media from Cagayan province in the northern tip of the Philippines shows a flickering green fireball appearing behind a cloud, followed by an orange tail, before disappearing a few seconds later.

Fitzsimmons said two to three objects this size hit Earth every year, and early detection is becoming more common – astronomers detected the first near-Earth asteroid before it fell to Earth in 2008. 2024 RW1 will be the ninth asteroid to be accurately predicted to hit Earth.

“The really good thing about this is that our survey telescopes are now good enough to detect these objects as they approach and to provide a warning,” he says. “In other words, if this object was bigger and potentially threatening to people on the ground, it would have appeared brighter and projected farther. So this is a really cool demonstration that our current survey systems work really well. Right now, we’re probably averaging about one asteroid per year that gets detected before it hits the atmosphere, and survey systems are getting better and better.”

Not only is Earth developing and improving its early warning systems, but in 2022 NASA’s Dual Asteroid Reorientation Test (DART) spacecraft proved it could potentially save Earth from a catastrophic impact with a larger object. DART struck the 160-meter-wide moonlet Dimorphos, slowing it slightly, demonstrating that in theory such a disaster could be averted. Next month, the European Space Agency will launch the Hera mission to study the consequences of the impact in detail and further our understanding of planetary defense.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Don’t Panic: Small Asteroid CAQTDL2 is Approaching Earth

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Predicted trajectory of asteroid CAQTDL2 over the Philippines

Catalina Sky Survey/ESA

Astronomers have discovered that an asteroid is on its way to collide with Earth at thousands of kilometers per hour, likely somewhere east of the Philippines, over the ocean. Fortunately, this relatively small object won’t pose any harm and will simply burn up in the atmosphere in a fireball.

The asteroid, estimated to be about one meter in diameter, was a NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey. The asteroid has been named CAQTDL2 and is scheduled to impact Earth at approximately 16:45 GMT, 17:45 London time, 12:45 New York time, and at approximately 00:45 local time at the impact site in the Philippines.

It is currently estimated that CAQTDL2 will impact at a speed of 17.6 kilometers per second, or 63,360 kilometers per hour. Alan Fitzsimmons That’s average for such an object, says a researcher at Queen’s University in Belfast, UK. “Don’t be fooled by Hollywood movies where you see something screaming into the sky and you have time to run out the house, grab your cat, hop in your car and drive somewhere. You don’t have time for that,” he says.

Fortunately, no such evacuation is necessary. Although the impact would be dramatic and could shine as brightly as the moon in the night sky, it poses no danger to people on the ground. “An object this small can’t do any damage on the ground because it’s protected by the Earth’s atmosphere,” Fitzsimmons says. “It would just burn up harmlessly and then explode in a very impressive fireball.”

Asteroid CAQTDL2 can be seen moving across the sky in a purple circle.

Catalina Sky Survey

Fitzsimmons said two to three objects this size hit Earth each year, and early detection is becoming more common – astronomers first spotted a near-Earth asteroid before it fell to Earth in 2008. CAQTDL2 is the ninth asteroid to be accurately predicted to hit Earth.

“The really good thing about this is that our survey telescopes are now good enough to detect these objects as they approach and to provide a warning,” he says. “In other words, if this object was bigger and potentially threatening to people on the ground, it would have appeared brighter and projected farther. So this is a really cool demonstration that our current survey systems work really well. Right now, we’re probably averaging about one asteroid per year that gets detected before it hits the atmosphere, and survey systems are getting better and better.”

Not only is Earth developing and improving its early warning systems, but in 2022 NASA’s Dual Asteroid Reorientation Test (DART) spacecraft proved it could potentially save Earth from a catastrophic impact with a larger object. DART struck the 160-meter-wide moonlet Dimorphos, slowing it slightly, demonstrating that in theory such a disaster could be averted. Next month, the European Space Agency will launch the Hera mission to study the consequences of the impact up close and further our understanding of planetary defense.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Recent research indicates that a giant asteroid collided with Ganymede 4 billion years ago

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Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is home to an ancient impact structure called the Groove System, the largest impact structure in the outer Solar System, whose impact would have had a major impact on Ganymede’s early history.

The distribution of grooves and the location of the center of the groove system are always shown on the hemisphere away from Jupiter (top) and on a cylindrical projection of Ganymede (bottom). Grey areas represent geologically new terrains that are devoid of grooves. Gutters (green lines) are only present in geologically older terrains (black areas). Image courtesy of Naoyuki Hirata, doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-69914-2.

Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and has many unique features, including tectonic valleys known as grooves.

The grooves are the oldest surface features identified on Ganymede, as they are crossed by impact craters over 10 km in diameter. The grooves provide clues to the moon’s early history.

The trench is thought to be a fragment of a multi-ring impact basin structure similar to the Valhalla basin on Callisto and the Asgard basin.

The largest trench system lies across the Galileo-Marius region, the so-called Galileo-Marius trench system, which is the remnant of an ancient giant impact that radiates in concentric circles from a single point on Ganymede.

“Jupiter’s moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto each have interesting features, but what caught my attention were the grooves on Ganymede,” said planetary scientist from Kobe University. paper Published in the journal Scientific Reports.

“We know that this feature was created by an asteroid impact about 4 billion years ago, but we didn’t know how large that impact was or how it affected the Moon.”

First, Dr. Hirata noticed that the estimated location of the impact was almost exactly on the meridian farthest from Jupiter.

“Similarities with the Pluto impact that shifted the dwarf planet’s rotation axis, as seen through NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, suggest that Ganymede underwent a similar reorientation,” he said.

The asteroid that struck Ganymede was probably about 300 kilometers (180 miles) in diameter, roughly 20 times larger than the Chicxulub asteroid that smashed into Earth 65 million years ago, ending the age of the dinosaurs, leaving a temporary crater 800 to 1,000 miles (1,400 to 1,600 kilometers) across, according to the study.

Only an impact of this magnitude would be likely to shift the Moon’s rotation axis to its current position due to the change in mass distribution, regardless of where on the surface the impact occurred.

“We want to understand the origin and evolution of Ganymede and other Jupiter moons,” Dr. Hirata said.

“The giant impact must have had a major impact on Ganymede’s early evolution, but the thermal and structural effects of the impact on Ganymede’s interior remain largely unexplored.”

“We think that further research into the application of the internal evolution of icy moons could be done next.”

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N. Hirata. 2024. Giant impact on early Ganymede and subsequent reorientation. Scientific Reports 14, 19982. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-69914-2

Source: www.sci.news

Study finds that Chicxulub asteroid, which caused dinosaur extinction, originated from beyond Jupiter.

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The asteroid, called the Chicxulub impactor, was a carbonaceous asteroid that formed outside the orbit of Jupiter. New Paper Published in the journal Science.

Ankylosaurus magniventrisA Tyrannosaurus, a type of large armored dinosaur, witnessed the impact of an asteroid that fell on the Yucatan Peninsula 66 million years ago. Image by Fabio Manucci.

About 66 million years ago, a 10-kilometer-wide asteroid struck Earth near what is now a small town called Chicxulub in Mexico.

This impact released incredible amounts of climate-changing gases into the atmosphere, setting off a chain of events that led to the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and 75% of life on Earth.

Evidence includes the presence of high concentrations of platinum group elements (PGE) in the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary layer, including iridium, ruthenium, osmium, rhodium, platinum, and palladium, which are rare on Earth but common in meteorites.

These elevated PGE levels have been found worldwide, suggesting that the impact spread debris around the world.

Some have proposed large-scale volcanism in the Deccan Traps igneous province of India as an alternative source of PGEs, but the specific PGE ratios at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary are more consistent with an asteroid impact than volcanism.

However, little is known about the nature of the Chicxulub impactor, including its composition and extraterrestrial origin.

To answer these questions, Dr Mario Fischer-Gödde from the University of Cologne and his colleagues measured ruthenium isotopes in samples taken from three sites at the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary.

For comparison, the team also analysed samples from five other impacts that occurred between 36 million and 470 million years ago, an ancient impact spherule from 3.5 to 3.2 billion years ago, and two carbonaceous meteorites.

The researchers found that the ruthenium isotope signature of samples taken from the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary was uniform and matched very closely to that of carbonaceous chondrites rather than those from Earth or other types of meteorites, suggesting that the Chicxulub impactor likely came from a carbonaceous-type asteroid that formed in the outer solar system.

The other five impact structures have isotopic signatures more consistent with silicic asteroids that formed closer to the Sun.

The ancient spherulitic samples are consistent with a carbonaceous asteroid impact during the final stages of Earth's accretion.

“The composition of this asteroid is consistent with that of carbonaceous asteroids that formed outside Jupiter's orbit during the formation of the solar system,” Dr Fischer-Gödde said.

“Asteroid impacts like Chicxulub turn out to be very rare and unique events in geological time,” said Professor Carsten Müncher from the University of Cologne.

“The fate of the dinosaurs and many other species was sealed by this object that came from the outer solar system.”

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Mario Fischer-Gedde others2024. Ruthenium isotopes indicate that the Chicxulub impactor was a carbonaceous asteroid. Science 385 (6710): 752-756; doi: 10.1126/science.adk4868

Source: www.sci.news

Study suggests a remarkably faraway asteroid could have been responsible for dinosaur extinction

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Research has shown that the asteroid responsible for the mass extinction that annihilated the dinosaurs 66 million years ago originated from a distant region in the solar system, unlike most asteroids that have collided with Earth.

According to European and American researchers, the dinosaur-killing asteroid formed in a cold area outside Jupiter’s orbit and contained high levels of water and carbon. Survey results The study detailing these findings was published in the journal Science on Thursday.

In their analysis of objects that have struck Earth in the last 500 million years, the researchers noted that only asteroids rich in water have caused mass extinctions like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. Co-author François Tissot, a professor at the California Institute of Technology, explained that asteroids originating closer to the sun were significantly drier.

Tissot further stated, “All other impacts that occurred were from objects closer to the sun and just happened to hit that specific spot, so the asteroid responsible for the dinosaur extinction is truly unique in both its characteristics and origin.”

This catastrophic asteroid created the Chicxulub crater in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. While direct samples of the asteroid itself were unattainable due to its fragmentation, researchers were able to analyze particles that were dispersed upon impact and settled in Earth’s strata.

The researchers specifically examined ruthenium, a rare element on Earth that can be linked back to the asteroid.

The study confirmed earlier conclusions that classified the asteroid as a carbonaceous, or C-type, asteroid, though some theories proposed it could have been a comet that caused the dinosaur extinction.

Tissot explained, “Comets originate from great distances from the sun and are primarily composed of ice and dust. While the ruthenium levels of a comet have not been measured, based on research indicating other elements, it seems highly improbable that the extinction-causing object was a comet.”

According to Tissot, this study represents progress in understanding the evolution of Earth.

“By delving into Earth’s history, we now have a comprehensive look at its evolution,” he remarked. “This allows us to pose new questions about our planet.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Study suggests Chicxulub asteroid that caused dinosaur extinction originated beyond Jupiter

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The asteroid, called the Chicxulub impactor, was a carbonaceous asteroid that formed outside the orbit of Jupiter. New Paper Published in the journal Science.

Ankylosaurus magniventrisA Tyrannosaurus, a type of large armored dinosaur, witnessed the impact of an asteroid that fell on the Yucatan Peninsula 66 million years ago. Image by Fabio Manucci.

About 66 million years ago, a 10-kilometer-wide asteroid struck Earth near what is now a small town called Chicxulub in Mexico.

This impact released incredible amounts of climate-changing gases into the atmosphere, setting off a chain of events that led to the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and 75% of life on Earth.

Evidence includes the presence of high concentrations of platinum group elements (PGE) in the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary layer, including iridium, ruthenium, osmium, rhodium, platinum, and palladium, which are rare on Earth but common in meteorites.

These elevated PGE levels have been found worldwide, suggesting that the impact spread debris around the world.

Some have proposed large-scale volcanism in the Deccan Traps igneous province of India as an alternative source of PGEs, but the specific PGE ratios at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary are more consistent with an asteroid impact than volcanism.

However, little is known about the nature of the Chicxulub impactor, including its composition and extraterrestrial origin.

To answer these questions, Dr Mario Fischer-Gödde from the University of Cologne and his colleagues measured ruthenium isotopes in samples taken from three sites at the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary.

For comparison, the team also analysed samples from five other impacts that occurred between 36 million and 470 million years ago, an ancient impact spherule from 3.5 to 3.2 billion years ago, and two carbonaceous meteorites.

The researchers found that the ruthenium isotope signature of samples taken from the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary was uniform and matched very closely to that of carbonaceous chondrites rather than those from Earth or other types of meteorites, suggesting that the Chicxulub impactor likely came from a carbonaceous-type asteroid that formed in the outer solar system.

The other five impact structures have isotopic signatures more consistent with silicic asteroids that formed closer to the Sun.

The ancient spherulitic samples are consistent with a carbonaceous asteroid impact during the final stages of Earth's accretion.

“The composition of this asteroid is consistent with that of carbonaceous asteroids that formed outside Jupiter's orbit during the formation of the solar system,” Dr Fischer-Gödde said.

“Asteroid impacts like Chicxulub turn out to be very rare and unique events in geological time,” said Professor Carsten Müncher from the University of Cologne.

“The fate of the dinosaurs and many other species was sealed by this object that came from the outer solar system.”

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Mario Fischer-Gedde others2024. Ruthenium isotopes indicate that the Chicxulub impactor was a carbonaceous asteroid. Science 385 (6710): 752-756; doi: 10.1126/science.adk4868

Source: www.sci.news

352 new binary asteroid candidates discovered by ESA’s Gaia mission

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Binary asteroid systems have attracted the attention of the scientific community due to their intriguing properties and significant impact on our understanding of the Solar System. Unlike single asteroids, binary systems provide unique insights into many fundamental processes, including planetary formation and evolution, collision dynamics, and gravitational interactions.

Gaia has discovered possible moons around 352 asteroids that are not known to have companion stars. Image courtesy of ESA.

Asteroids are fascinating celestial objects that hold unique insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system.

Binary stars are even more fascinating because they allow astronomers to study how different objects in the universe form, collide, and interact.

With our unique all-sky scanning function, ESA's Gaia satellite Since its launch in 2013, it has made a number of important asteroid discoveries.

In Data Release 3, Gaia pinpointed the positions and movements of more than 150,000 asteroids. That precision has allowed scientists to probe deeper, looking for asteroids that exhibit a characteristic “wobble” caused by the gravitational pull of their orbiting companion stars.

Gaia has also collected data on the asteroid's chemistry, compiling the largest ever collection of asteroid reflectance spectra – light curves that reveal an object's color and composition.

More than 150,000 orbits determined in Gaia's Data Release 3 were refined as part of the mission's Focused Product Release last year, making them 20 times more accurate.

Gaia's upcoming Data Release 4 (due after mid-2026) is expected to reveal the orbits of even more asteroids.

“Binary asteroids are difficult to find because most are very small and far away from Earth,” said Dr Luana Liberato, an astronomer at the Observatory of the Côte d'Azur.

“Although just under one in six asteroids are predicted to have companion stars, only half a billion of the one million known asteroids have been found to be in binary systems.”

“But this discovery shows that there are many more asteroid moons still waiting to be discovered.”

“If confirmed, this new discovery adds 352 potential binary systems, nearly doubling the known number of moon-bearing asteroids.”

“Gaia is proving to be an excellent asteroid explorer, working hard to unlock the secrets of the universe, both within our solar system and beyond,” said Dr Timo Prusti, ESA's Gaia project scientist.

“This discovery highlights the Gaia data release as a major improvement in data quality and demonstrates the incredible new science made possible by this mission.”

a paper A paper describing the results has been published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

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L. Liberato others2024. Binary asteroid candidate in the Gaia DR3 astronomical measurements. A&A 688, A50;doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202349122

This article was based on an original release from ESA.

Source: www.sci.news

An Ambitious New Space Mission on a Collision Course with an Approaching Asteroid

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To prevent a fate similar to the dinosaurs, The European Space Agency (ESA) has initiated work on a groundbreaking planetary defense mission known as the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Security (RAMSES).

RAMSES is designed to rendezvous with 99942 Apophis, an asteroid the size of a cruise ship, and accompany it as it approaches Earth in April 2029.

Apophis, with a diameter of about 375 meters, will pass within 32,000 kilometers of Earth’s surface on April 13, 2029. This rare event will be visible to the naked eye in parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia, attracting global attention. An asteroid of this size only comes this close once every 5,000 to 10,000 years.

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Astronomers believe that Apophis is unlikely to collide with Earth in the next 100 years, but the 2029 flyby will provide scientists with a unique opportunity to observe a close encounter.

The ESA’s Ramses spacecraft is set to reach Apophis two months before the closest approach, allowing monitoring of any physical changes to the asteroid caused by Earth’s gravity.

Ramses is scheduled to launch in April 2028 and arrive at Apophis by February 2029. The mission aims to observe and study how Earth’s gravity affects Apophis, potential landslides, and any new material beneath the asteroid’s surface.

Patrick MichelGerry McClellan, CNRS Director of Research at the Observatory of the Côte d’Azur, emphasized the significance of the mission, stating: “There is much we still don’t know about asteroids, but now, nature is bringing one to us to conduct the experiment itself. All we need to do is watch as Apophis is stretched and compressed by powerful tidal forces.”

Ramses will utilize a variety of scientific instruments to comprehensively study Apophis, analyzing its shape, surface, orbit, rotation, and more.

The collected data will be closely examined by scientists to understand the asteroid’s composition, structure, and how to deflect potentially hazardous asteroids in the future.

Experts predict that Earth’s tidal forces could alter the asteroid’s rotation, potentially causing earthquakes and landslides. They hope that Ramses’ flyby will offer detailed observations of how Apophis is affected by the close encounter.

Additionally, NASA is redirecting its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft (now renamed OSIRIS-APEX) towards Apophis, set to arrive about a month after the 2029 flyby.

OSIRIS-REx was the first US mission to collect samples from an asteroid, returning material from Bennu to Earth in September 2023. After successfully delivering the sample, the spacecraft was renamed OSIRIS-APEX for its new mission to explore Apophis.

“Ramses will demonstrate humanity’s capability to deploy a reconnaissance mission to rendezvous with an approaching asteroid in just a few years,” said Richard Moisle, head of ESA’s Planetary Defence Division.

A decision on the full implementation of Ramses will be made at ESA’s Ministerial Council meeting in November 2025. If approved, Ramses will not only enhance knowledge of asteroid deflection but also provide valuable scientific insights into the solar system’s formation and evolution.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Spotting a harmless asteroid passing close to Earth this Saturday: What you need to know.

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This weekend, there will be a passing asteroid near Earth, which poses no threat. With the right equipment and timing, you may be able to catch a glimpse of it.

The asteroid, known as 2024 MK, will be at its closest point to Earth on Saturday morning, passing at a distance about three-quarters of the way from Earth to the moon. It was first spotted two weeks ago by an observatory in South Africa and measures approximately 393 to 853 feet (120 to 260 meters) wide.

According to Davide Farnocchia, an asteroid expert at NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, smaller objects pass by Earth regularly. Asteroids of this size come close to Earth roughly every 25 years.

“We may witness this event a few times in our lifetime, but it’s not a common occurrence,” he noted.

The 7,579-foot (2,310-meter) asteroid made a safe pass near Earth on Thursday, but it was too distant to be visible without specialized telescopes.

To see the asteroid on Saturday, skywatchers will need small telescopes as it won’t be bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. It will move swiftly across the southern sky, making it challenging to spot.

Nick Moskovitz, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory, mentioned, “The asteroid will move rapidly through the star field.”

For the best chance of seeing the asteroid, observers in the Southern Hemisphere should look high overhead. People in the US may have better luck spotting it on Saturday night when it might be less bright, but easier to see without the sun’s glare.

If you miss this event, mark your calendars for April 13, 2029, when the asteroid Apophis will pass close to Earth and be visible to the naked eye from parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Astronomers report that the moons orbiting asteroid Dinkinesh are in a contact binary configuration

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Dinkinesh is a small asteroid orbiting the Sun near the inner edge of the main asteroid belt. NASA’s Lucy spacecraft recently revealed that this asteroid, with an effective diameter of just 720 meters, is unexpectedly complex. The asteroid has a pronounced valley covered by an equatorial ridge and is currently orbited by a contact binary moon, named Seram, which consists of two nearly equal lobes with diameters of 210 meters and 230 meters. The moon orbits at a distance of 3.1 kilometers from Dinkinesh, has an orbital period of about 52.7 hours, and is tidally locked.

Stereo image pair (a-c) taken by the L’LORRI instrument aboard NASA’s Lucy spacecraft on November 1, 2023, shows asteroid Dinkinesh. Yellow and rose dots indicate valley and ridge features, respectively. These images have been sharpened and processed to enhance contrast. Image (d) shows a side-on view of Dinkinesh and its moon Ceram, taken a few minutes after closest approach. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL/NOIRLab.

“We want to understand the strength of small bodies in the solar system because it’s important to understanding how planets like Earth got here,” said Dr. Hal Levison, a research scientist at Southwest Research Institute and Lucy principal investigator.

“Essentially, planets formed when a bunch of tiny objects orbiting the sun, like asteroids, collided with each other.”

“How objects behave when they collide – whether they break or stick together – has a lot to do with the object’s strength and internal structure.”

The researchers believe that how Dinkinesh responded to stress may reveal something about its inner workings.

As it rotated in sunlight for millions of years, tiny forces from thermal radiation radiating from the asteroid’s warm surface created tiny torques that caused Dinkinesh to spin gradually faster, and the accumulated centrifugal forces caused parts of the asteroid to become more elongated.

This event likely sent debris into close orbit, providing the raw material for the formation of the ridge and moons.

If Dinkinesh had been a weaker, more mobile mass of sand, its particles would have gradually migrated toward the equator and then blasted off into orbit as it rotated faster.

But the images suggest that, like rock, the Dinkinesh asteroid was stronger than a fluid and held together longer, until it eventually disintegrated under pressure and broke into larger pieces. Still, the force needed to break up a small asteroid like Dinkinesh is tiny compared to most rocks on Earth.

“This valley suggests a sudden collapse, more like an earthquake, where stress builds up gradually and then is suddenly released, rather than the slow process that creates sand dunes,” said Dr. Keith Noll, a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and a Lucy scientist.

“These features show that Dinkinesh has some strength, and we can do a bit of historical reconstruction to see how this asteroid evolved,” Dr Levison said.

“During that collapse, the rocks broke apart and things separated, forming a disk of material, some of which rained down to the surface and formed the ridge.”

“We think that some of the material in the disk formed the moon Ceram, which is actually a structure where two celestial bodies are in contact with each other, known as a contact binary. The details of how this unusual moon formed remain a mystery.”

of Investigation result Published in the journal Nature.

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H.F. Levison others2024. Contact binary moon of asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh. Nature 629, 1015-1020; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07378-0

Source: www.sci.news

Berlin witnesses fastest spinning asteroid breakup in recorded history

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A long exposure photo showing the trajectory of asteroid 2024 BX1 just before impact. Changes in brightness are caused by the asteroid’s rotation

L. Buzzi, Schiaparelli Observatory, Italy (MPC 204)

The asteroid that entered Earth’s atmosphere this year was spinning at a rate of 2.6 seconds per rotation, faster than any known asteroid.

The object, known as 2024 BX1, was likely less than one meter wide and entered Earth’s atmosphere on January 21. It disintegrated over Berlin, Germany. Some debris survived the fireball and was retrieved. This is a rare instance of a monitored asteroid fall, where the incoming rock was detected before impact, in this case, just three hours prior to impact.

Maxime Devogele and his team at the European Space Agency’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Center in Italy captured images of the asteroid before impact. Despite traveling at around 50,000 kilometers per hour, the elongated shape of the asteroid made changes in brightness due to rotation quite noticeable in these images.

These changes in brightness corresponded to a rotation time of 2.588 seconds, equivalent to approximately 30,000 rotations per day. “This is the fastest rotation we have observed to date,” Devogele remarked.

Asteroids rotate for various reasons, including early-life collisions. In general, a space rock larger than one kilometer cannot rotate more than once every 2.2 hours, as it would disintegrate. However, smaller asteroids like 2024 BX1 are more resilient and can withstand much faster rotations. “They have internal strength, allowing them to rotate at higher speeds,” Devogele explained.

Measuring the rotation of such objects could be beneficial for planetary defense, providing insights into the durability of small asteroids and their likelihood of surviving passage through Earth’s atmosphere. “If you have hard snow, it will react differently than if you have snow with no internal strength,” Devogele stated.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

454 new asteroids discovered in the main asteroid belt by astronomers

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632 main-belt asteroids (178 known objects and 454 unknown objects) have been identified in archival images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Citizen scientists from around the world contributed to the discovery of this asteroid. Professional astronomers identified the asteroid using a combination of volunteer efforts and machine learning algorithms.

This Hubble image of barred spiral galaxy UGC 12158 looks like someone took it with a white marking pen. In reality, this is a combination of long exposures of a foreground asteroid moving within Hubble's field of view, adding light bombardment to observations of the galaxy. The galaxy was photographed several times. The dashed pattern is proof of this. Due to parallax, the asteroid appears as a curved trajectory. Hubble is not stationary, but orbits around the Earth, giving the illusion of a faint asteroid swimming along a curved trajectory. This unknown asteroid is located inside the solar system's asteroid belt, so it is 10 trillion times closer to Hubble than the background galaxy. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Pablo García Martín, UAM / Joseph DePasquale, STScI / Alex Filippenko, University of California, Berkeley.

More than 4 billion years ago, the eight major planets around the sun formed by sweeping up debris from the vast disk of dust and gas surrounding the sun.

This is common in the birth process of planets, and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has for the first time optically observed a similar disk surrounding a newborn star, providing a glimpse into the solar system's formative years.

Four billion years later, debris still litters the planet's construction yards.

Most of this ancient space debris, or asteroids, lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt.

“We are starting to learn more about the presence of a small number of main-belt asteroids,” said Dr. Pablo García Martín, an astronomer at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

“We were surprised to see so many candidate objects.”

“We've had some hints that this population exists, but we're now confirming it with a random asteroid population sample obtained using the entire Hubble archive.”

“This is important for gaining insight into models of the evolution of the solar system.”

Since Hubble orbits around the Earth at high speed, Hubble exposure allows us to follow its trail and capture a wandering asteroid.

When viewed from a telescope on Earth, the asteroid leaves streaks across the photo.

The asteroid appears as an unmistakable curved trajectory in the photo, making the Hubble exposure a “photobomb.”

Hubble observes the asteroid from different perspectives as it moves around Earth, but the asteroid also moves along its own orbit.

By knowing Hubble's position during observations and measuring the curvature of its stripes, scientists can determine the distance to the asteroid and estimate the shape of its orbit.

Most of the asteroids involved are in the main belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Their brightness is measured by Hubble's sensitive camera. Then, by comparing its brightness and distance, we can estimate its size.

The faintest asteroid found in the survey is approximately 40 million times less bright than the faintest star visible to the human eye.

“Because the asteroid's position changes over time, you can't find the asteroid's location just by entering the coordinates, because the asteroid may not be there at a different time,” Melin said.

“As astronomers, we don't have time to study images of every asteroid.”

“So we came up with the idea of ​​collaborating with more than 10,000 citizen science volunteers to browse the massive Hubble archive.”

of result appear in the diary astronomy and astrophysics.

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Pablo Garcia-Martin other. 2024. Hubble Asteroid Hunter III. Physical properties of newly discovered asteroids. A&A 683, A122; doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202346771

Source: www.sci.news

NASA’s DART mission may have reshaped the asteroid moon Dimorphos

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On September 26, 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully impacted Dimorphos, the natural satellite of the near-Earth binary asteroid Didymos. New numerical simulations show that the DART impact triggered global deformation and resurfacing of Dimorphos.

The asteroid moon Dimorphos was seen by NASA’s DART spacecraft 11 seconds before impact. His DRACO imager aboard DART captured this image from a distance of 68 km (42 miles). This image was the last one to include all dimorphos in the field of view. Image credit: NASA/Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

DART was a planetary defense mission that demonstrated the possibility of using kinetic impactors to alter the orbits of asteroids.

The collision was successful and highly effective, resulting in Dimorphos’ orbital period around Didymus being shortened from its original 11 hours and 55 minutes to 33 minutes.

The LICIACube Unit Key Explorer (LUKE) instrument aboard the cubesat took images of the system between 29 seconds and 320 seconds after impact, showing the ejecta stream and other debris that spread for several kilometers from the impact site. revealed a complex pattern.

Furthermore, the dramatic brightening of the Didymos system due to solar illumination of the ejected impact ejecta was observed by ground-based and space-based telescopes for many weeks after the impact.

These three Hubble images capture the breakup of Dimorphos when it was intentionally collided by DART on September 26, 2022. The top panel, taken two hours after impact, shows the ejecta cone (estimated at 1,000 tons of dust). The center frame shows dynamic interactions within the Didymos-Dimorphos binary system that begin to distort the cone of ejecta patterns approximately 17 hours after impact. The most notable structure is a rotating windmill-shaped feature. The windmill is connected to Didymus’s gravitational pull. In the bottom frame, Hubble captures debris being pushed back into the comet-like tail by the pressure of sunlight on tiny dust particles. This spreads out into a column of debris, with the lightest particles traveling fastest and furthest away from the asteroid. The mystery deepens after Hubble recorded the tail splitting into two for several days. Image credit: NASA/ESA/STScI/Jian-Yang Li, PSI/Joseph DePasquale, STScI.

In a new study, University of Bern scientist Sabina Raducan and colleagues use realistic constraints on the mechanical and compositional properties of dimorphos, informed by DART’s initial results, to create a state-of-the-art impact The DART impact was modeled using physical code.

The simulations that best match observations of the impact suggest that Dimorphos is weakly cohesive, similar to asteroids Bennu and Ryugu, and lacks large rocks on its surface.

The researchers suggest that Dimorphos may be a pile of debris formed by the rotational shedding and re-accumulation of material ejected from Didymos.

Their model also suggests that DART’s impact may not have created an impact crater, but instead may have changed the shape of the moon as a whole, a process known as global deformation, which could have been caused by material from within. It also indicates that it may have caused the resurfacing of Dimorphos.

The discovery provides further insight into the formation and characteristics of binary asteroids and could have implications for future exploration, including ESA’s Hera mission and asteroid deflection efforts.

“ESA’s future Hera mission may discover reformed asteroids rather than well-defined craters,” the authors concluded.

their paper It was published in the magazine natural astronomy.

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SD Raducan other. Physical properties of the asteroid Dimorphos obtained from the DART impact. Nat Astron, published online on February 26, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02200-3

Source: www.sci.news

SOFIA’s discovery of molecular water on a seemingly dry asteroid

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Astronomers used the FORCAST instrument on NASA's retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) to obtain mid-infrared spectra of four S-type (silicate-rich) asteroids: Iris, Partenope, Melpomene, and Massalia. Did. They detected features on two of her asteroids, Iris and Massalia, that could clearly be attributed to water molecules.

Arredondo other. Using his FORCAST instrument at NASA's SOFIA Observatory, he observed four silicate-rich asteroids and found mid-infrared spectral signatures indicating molecular water on two of them, Iris and Massalia. Separated. Image credit: NASA/Carla Thomas/Southwest Research Institute.

“Asteroids are leftovers from the planet-forming process, so their composition varies depending on where in the solar nebula they form,” said Dr. Anisia Arredondo, a planetary researcher at the Southwest Research Institute.

“Of particular interest is the distribution of water on the asteroid, as it may reveal how water was delivered to Earth.”

Anhydrous, or dry, silicate asteroids form close to the Sun, and icy material coalesces farther away.

Understanding the location of asteroids and their composition can help us understand how material within the solar nebula has been distributed and evolved since its formation.

The distribution of water in our solar system provides insight into the distribution of water in other planetary systems, and because water is necessary for all life on Earth, there is potential both within and outside the solar system. You will decide where to look for natural life.

“We detected features on the asteroids Iris and Massalia that are clearly attributable to water molecules,” Arredondo said.

“We are building on the success of the team that discovered water molecules on the moon's sunlit surface.”

“We thought we could use SOFIA to find this spectral feature in other objects.”

Sofia detected water molecules in one of the largest craters in the moon's southern hemisphere.

Previous observations of both the Moon and the asteroid have detected some types of hydrogen, but have not been able to distinguish between water and its chemical cousin hydroxyl.

Scientists found that in the cubic meters of soil spread across the moon's surface, there is approximately the equivalent of a 12-ounce (355 ml) bottle of water trapped chemically bonded to minerals.

“Based on the band intensities of the spectral features, the water abundance on the asteroid matches the water abundance on the sunlit moon,” Arredondo said.

“Similarly, in asteroids, water not only binds to minerals, but also adsorbs to silicates and can become trapped or dissolved in silicate impact glass.”

Data from two fainter asteroids, Partenope and Melpomene, were too noisy to draw definitive conclusions.

The FORCAST instrument appears not to be sensitive enough to detect the spectral signature of water, if it exists.

But with these discoveries, researchers are calling on NASA/ESA/CSA's James Webb Space Telescope to take advantage of its precise optics and superior signal-to-noise ratio to investigate more targets. I am requesting you to do so.

“We conducted initial measurements of two more asteroids with Mr. Webb during Cycle 2,” said Dr. Arredondo.

“We are making another proposal to consider 30 more goals in the next cycle.”

“These studies will improve our understanding of the distribution of water in the solar system.”

of study Published in Planetary Science Journal.

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Anisia Arredondo other. 2024. Molecular H2O is detected on a nominally anhydrous asteroid. planet. Science. J 5, 37; doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ad18b8

Source: www.sci.news

The Hera mission to revisit an asteroid destroyed by NASA is scheduled for 2024

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Hera will soon head to the asteroid Dimorphos with CubeSats

ESA/Science Directorate

The European Space Agency (ESA) is sending a mission to find out what happened to an asteroid that NASA collided with in 2022. The Hera mission, scheduled to launch in October, will head to the asteroid Dimorphos, which NASA collided with during the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). Mission.

The purpose of DART was to see if crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid would be a good way to protect Earth if one were to come our way.we know the impact Change the trajectory of Dimorphos The collisions around parent asteroid Didymos shorten each orbit by about 33 minutes, but details are not known about exactly how the collisions affected the asteroid or what happened next. do not have.

“To determine whether the impact left a crater or completely changed the shape of the asteroid, another spacecraft will need to return to the crime scene, because with the current data, either scenario is possible. That's why,” says Hera Mission Director. patrick michel At the Côte d'Azur Observatory in France. “Hera is a detective who will thoroughly investigate the effects.”

The mission consists of a main spacecraft that will fly up to 1 kilometer to Dimorphos, and two smaller cube-shaped satellites that are intended to land on the surface and see it up close. This research will not only be crucial for simulating potentially dangerous asteroids and how to deflect them in the future, but will also provide important scientific insights.

“Collisions have played an important role in the entire history of the solar system. We started the growth of planets through collisions, and all solid surfaces are full of impact craters,” Michel says. “If we're going to build a complete model of the solar system's collision history, we need to understand how these collisions work.” And it helps clarify how those conflicts work for us.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

National Laboratory Simulates Core Deflection of Armageddon-Type Asteroid

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Last year’s successful double asteroid redirection experiment, which involved firing a satellite bomb into an asteroid, has been followed by a detailed simulation of a nuclear deflection scenario, similar to the plot of the 1998 space disaster movie Armageddon.

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, led by Mary Varkey, have published a paper advancing the active field of research on planetary defense against asteroid threats. They propose that detonating a nuclear explosive device as close as possible to an incoming asteroid may be the best strategy, considering that using satellites as missiles is not always practical.

The challenge, however, lies in precisely deflecting the asteroid’s nucleus to avoid potential impact with Earth, as depicted in the movie Armageddon, or the widespread destruction scenario depicted in the film Deep Impact.

In their paper published in the Planetary Science Journal, Burkey et al. explain the complexities involved in simulating the energy storage and the interaction of X-rays from a nuclear explosion with the asteroid’s surface, emphasizing the high computational cost and the need to break down the problem into stages for accurate modeling.

The team’s efforts have resulted in a comprehensive simulation of the nuclear deflection scenario, offering insight into the potential outcomes of such an event. The team also highlights the need for faster simulations, potentially utilizing machine learning to optimize response times for specific threats.

Image credits: Varkey et al.

By simulating the nuclear deflection scenario, the team aims to further advance the understanding of potential strategies for planetary defense against asteroid threats and minimize response times for future events.

Source: techcrunch.com

Lucy spacecraft makes a new asteroid discovery, finding another one beyond asteroid Dinkinesh

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Asteroid Dinkinesh and its orbiting asteroids

NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins University APL/NOAO

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft passed the first asteroid and discovered a second asteroid at the same time. Lucy passed the small asteroid Dinkinesh on November 1, and images sent back to Earth show that Dinkinesh has an even smaller space rock orbiting it, the smallest main-belt asteroid ever observed up close. It became clear that there was.

This finding was not entirely surprising. As Lucy approached Dinkinesh over the past few weeks, the asteroid’s brightness appeared to oscillate over time, often indicating the presence of some type of satellite. But Dinkinesh’s diameter is only about 790 meters (790 meters), making it impossible to spot the satellite from Earth, and until November 1, even spacecraft were too far away to see it clearly.

During a flyby on November 1, Lucy flew just 430 kilometers (430 kilometers) from Dinkinesh at speeds of about 16,000 kilometers per hour, taking photos as it passed. These photos reveal a second, smaller asteroid in the Dinkinesh binary, this one only about 220 meters in diameter.

“We knew this would be the smallest main-belt asteroid ever seen up close.” Keith Knoll at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. statement. “The fact that it’s two makes it even more exciting. In some ways, these asteroids are similar to near-Earth asteroids. Binary Didymus and Dimorpho [NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission] However, there are some very interesting differences that we will explore further. ”

The main purpose of the flyby was to test Lucy’s scientific equipment, especially the system that keeps it on target as it passes by at high speed, and the fact that nothing is visible in these first images suggests that the tracking system is not properly aligned. It shows that it is functioning. The remaining data from the encounter will be transmitted to Earth over the next week or so for more thorough examination by the mission’s scientists and engineers.

Now that Lucy has passed Dinkinesh and its partner asteroid, its next target is asteroid 52246 Donald Johansson, where it plans to visit in 2025 before accelerating toward Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. The Trojan horse travels in front of and behind Jupiter as it orbits around the sun, and because it is likely a remnant left over from the formation of the solar system, it provides valuable insight into how the planet formed and evolved over time. May hold insights. Lucy she will reach the Trojans in 2027.

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Source: www.newscientist.com