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Current News Click here for recent news and information. • December 2005 NASA announced the observation of a meteorite impact on the Moon. — full story The small asteroid 2005 YR3 passed 4.5 million miles (7.3 million km) from Earth on 23 December, one day after discovery by LINEAR. Eventual impact probability is about one in 4.5 million with an impact energy of 7.5 megatons TNT. The small asteroid 2005 XA8 passed within 136,000 miles (219,000 km) of Earth on 5 December. Eventual impact probability is more than one in 13,000 with an impact energy of 710,000 tons TNT. • November 2005 The small asteroid 2005 WN3 passed within 52,000 miles (84,000 km) of Earth on 26 November. Eventual impact probability is about one in 34 million with an impact energy of 3500 tons TNT. Despite an earlier system malfunction in Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft, it successfully touched down on the surface of asteroid 1998 SF36 (Itokawa) at a distance of 180 million miles (290 million km) from Earth. The spacecraft found the asteroid to be a "rubble pile" of planetary debris. — full story • October 2005 The small asteroid 2005 UW5 passed within 116,000 miles (187,000 km) of Earth on 30 October. The small asteroid 2005 TK50 passed within 85,000 miles (136,000 km) of Earth on 10 October. The 51-meter asteroid 2005 TM173 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey on 9 October. Eventual impact probability is about one in 1 million with an impact energy of 4.6 megatons TNT. Data from the Rosetta spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency indicate comets may be composed more of dust than of ice. — full story • September 2005 Images produced by the Hubble Space Telescope of the largest known asteroid, Ceres, indicate the presence of a large quantity of ice. — full story • August 2005 Observations of a thousand-ton meteor that fell over Antarctica in September 2004 with an energy of 13,000 tons TNT have contributed to a study of the influence of asteroid dust on our weather, published in the scientific journal Nature. — full story Donald Gennery [NASA/JPL] has responded to a call to action by former NASA astronaut Russell Schweickart with a proposal to deflect asteroid 2004 MN4 (Apophis). — full story Apophis in the news: Time magazine contained an article on 13 August about asteroid 2004 MN4 (Apophis) titled "How to Save the Planet", and The New York Times ran an editorial on 4 August titled "Apophis and Us". • July 2005 The discoveries of three new minor planets in orbits beyond Pluto were announced on 29 July: 2005 UB313 (Eris) was hailed as "The Tenth Planet" because it is larger than Pluto, and similar in surface composition to Pluto. The smaller 2003 EL61 was nicknamed "Santa" and is of particular interest because of its rapid rotation and its two satellites. Similar in size but brighter than 2003 EL61 is 2005 FY9, nicknamed "Easterbunny". The small asteroid 2005 ND63 passed within 476,000 miles (766,000 km) of Earth on 10 July. • June 2005 The small asteroid 2005 MA passed within 450,000 miles (730,000 km) of Earth on 21 June. NASA has been directed to submit a report to the House Appropriations Committee outlining its efforts to detect and characterize the hazards of Earth orbit-crossing asteroids and comets. — full story • May 2005 Former NASA astronaut Russell Schweickart has asked Congress to assign to a government agency the responsibility of protecting the public from asteroid impact, pointing out that there are no formal lines of communication between NASA and the White House to handle an imminent threat, and that there is no US agency responsible for monitoring near-Earth object activity. — full story • April 2005 Asteroid 2004 MN4 (Apophis) continues to stimulate thinking about protecting the planet, as reported by David Morrison of NASA. — full story • March 2005 The small asteroid 2005 FN passed within 90,000 miles (144,000 km) of Earth on 18 March, only 35 hours after discovery. Hundreds of witnesses from southern Oregon to Seattle observed a large fireball on 12 March. — full story • February 2005 Using instruments originally planned for the Hubble Observatory, the proposed Hubble Origins Probe will be a substantial upgrade to the older design, requiring no manned servicing missions. — full story • January 2005 The small asteroid 2005 BS1 passed within 165,000 miles (265,000 km) of Earth on 13 January. Eventual impact probability is one in 12,000 with an impact energy of 73,000 tons TNT. 97 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids discovered in 2004 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA) are defined as those with orbits within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth's orbit. Ninety-seven more PHA were discovered in 2004, bringing the total to 649 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, more than three times those known in 1999. — full list • December 2004 † Southeast Asia Tsunami Disaster, 26 December 2004 With a death toll over a quarter-million, and many thousands disabled or homeless, there can be no doubt about the need for a worldwide tsunami warning system: the President has said "it makes sense for the world to come together to develop a warning system that will help all nations", but it will happen only if US citizens insist that Congress write it into legislation. There is no reason why a similar disaster couldn't happen tomorrow along the Pacific coast, the Atlantic coast, or the Gulf coast of the US. The total cost to the US will be a tiny fraction of the annual Defense Department war budget, and will help protect many lives worldwide. Please write to your representatives about your support. — full story The small asteroid 2004 YD5 was discovered two days after it passed 22,000 miles (36,000 km) above Earth on 19 December; its approach had gone undetected due to the glare of the Sun. Comet Machholz (C/2004 Q2) was visible to the naked eye as it continued to approach Earth: in early January 2005, it was at its closest distance of 32 million miles (51 million kilometers). — full story • November 2004 The 580-meter asteroid 2004 VD17 was discovered on 7 November by LINEAR. Eventual impact probability is one in sixty million with an impact energy of 14,000 megatons TNT. • October 2004 The small asteroid 2004 UH1 passed within 185,000 miles (297,000 km) of Earth on 24 October, one day after discovery by Spacewatch. • September 2004 Asteroid Toutatis passed within 963,000 miles (1,550,000 km) of Earth on 29 September. — full story The small asteroids 2004 RU109 and 2004 ST26 both passed within 229,000 miles (368,000 km) of Earth on 13 September and 21 September, respectively. • May 2004 Scientists have analysed the 12-ton bolide that produced a brilliant fireball over the Midwest on 27 March 2003, raining a shower of meteoric debris upon the Chicago suburb of Park Forest, Illinois. — full story (follow-up to: Meteorites fall on Chicago suburbs March 2003) • March 2004 The small asteroid 2004 FU162 was was discovered on 31 March just hours before its closest approach of only 4000 miles (6500 km) from Earth.— full story The small asteroid 2004 FH was discovered only three days before it passed 26,500 miles (43,000 km) above Earth's surface on 18 March. Astronomers Gianluca Masi and Franco Mallia obtained a sequence of 24 photos assembled into this 130KB animation to show the asteroid's motion across the sky. — full story The European Space Agency launched the Rosetta spacecraft on its 12-year mission to place a lander on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and then escort the comet on its journey around the Sun. — full story • February 2004 At the four-day Planetary Defense Conference beginning 23 February, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher compared the general apathy about impact hazard with the public feeling about terrorism before 9/11, and expressed the hope that it would not require a similar catastrophe to alert people to the need to take action to protect the planet from impacts. — full story • January 2004 Incomplete data posted on 13 January about the orbit of an asteroid showed a possibility of impact the next day. The asteroid 2004 AS1 did not approach Earth closer than 7.5 million miles (12 million kilometers), but the incident highlighted the absence of procedure for dealing with a possible asteroid threat. — full story 83 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids discovered in 2003 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA) are defined as those with orbits within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth's orbit. Eighty-three more PHA were discovered in 2003, bringing the total to 552 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, more than five times those known in 1997. — full list • September 2003 The small asteroid 2003 SQ222 was detected 11 hours after it passed within 55,000 miles (88,000 km) of Earth on 27 September. • July 2003 An all-sky camera in the Sandia Meteor Detection Network recorded an exploding fireball over El Paso, Texas on 6 July. — video (204KB GiF) • May 2003 The Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft was launched to intercept asteroid 1998 SF36 (Itokawa) and return a sample of the asteroid's surface material to Earth. — full story • March 2003 A small asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere and broke apart over the Midwest, showering rock fragments that crashed through windows, ceilings, and cars. — full story 96 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids discovered in 2002 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA) are defined as those with orbits within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth's orbit. Ninety-six more PHA were discovered in 2002, bringing the total to 469 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, more than double those known in 1999. — full list • June 2002 Asteriod 2002 MN passed within 75,000 miles (120,000 km) of Earth on 14 June, but was not detected until three days later. — full story • March 2002 One of the largest asteroids known to have approached Earth passed about 280,000 miles (450,000 km) away on 8 March, but it was not detected until four days afterward. — full story • January 2002 An asteroid large enough to wipe out a medium-size country hurtled past Earth at a distance of 520,000 miles (830,000 km) just days after detection. Had it been on a collision course, it would have created "one of the worst disasters in human history", said Steven Pravdo at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "What could we have done about it? The answer is: not much." — full story 83 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids discovered in 2001 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA) are defined as those with orbits within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth's orbit. Eighty-three more PHA were discovered in 2001, bringing the total to 373 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, more than double those known in 1998. — full list • July 1999 Thousands of eyewitnesses saw a meteor streak across the sky and then explode with a bright flash, showering New Zealand's North Island with fragments. — full story 58 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids discovered in 1998 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA) are defined as those with orbits within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth's orbit. Fifty-eight more PHA were discovered in 1998, bringing the total to 166 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, double those known in 1994. — full list • December 1997 US Department of Defense satellite sensors detected a large meteor entering Earth's atmosphere above southern Greenland on 9 December, while a large number of witnesses on the ground and at sea observed a brilliant fireball caused by the estimated 60-ton object. • October 1997 Witnesses across New Mexico saw a large fireball over Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Albuquerque before it exploded at an altitude of 22 miles (36 km) near El Paso, Texas with the force of 500 tons of TNT. — full story 11 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids discovered in 1996 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA) are defined as those with orbits within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth's orbit. Eleven more PHA were discovered in 1996, bringing the total to 97 known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, nearly double those known in 1990. — full list • November 1996 Witnesses across a large part of western Honduras saw night become bright as day, heard roars of thunder, and felt earth tremors as a fireball passed overhead, showering the area with meteorites. — full story Advertise on this Site |
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