Items tagged with Earth
Scientists with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) tracked two near-Earth asteroids recently, one with a moon of its own, and the second having only been detected 13 days prior to its closest approach to Earth. The data collected during the radar observations will provide valuable practice for planetary defense...
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An asteroid the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza, discovered just two weeks ago, makes a close approach to Earth today. While the asteroid, named 2024 MK, poses no danger to Earth, it is a stark reminder of how large asteroids can escape detection until it could be too late.
The idea of a large sized asteroid...
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NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), conducted the fifth biennial Planetary Defense Interagency Tabletop Exercise this week. The tabletop exercise gathering aimed “to inform and assess the ability as a nation to respond effectively to the...
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According to NASA, there are several airplane-sized asteroids hurtling toward Earth this week. The largest of the five is estimated to be 110 feet in size, while the closest will come within 447,000 miles of Earth.
It is not uncommon for large asteroids to go zipping by Earth at a safe distance. This week, however...
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The European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars and Mars Express missions made an incredible find on the Red Planet recently. For the first time, water frost has been spotted near Mar’s equator, a location once thought "impossible" for frost to exist.
The exploration of Mars continues to surprise researchers. This time...
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Stargazers who don’t normally get the chance to take in the beauty of an aurora may once again get an opportunity this month. The sunspot region responsible for last month’s tantalizing aurora is once again showing off, and experts say the next several years could see even bigger events.
Last month people as far...
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Stargazers will be able to view six of the Solar System’s planets form a straight line as they take their place in a parade of planets. Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus will all take part in the parade, with Venus being the only one absent.
While the recent aurora that stretched across much of...
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First discovered in 2004, Asteroid Apophis, also known as “God of Chaos,” has been watched closely by astronomers and scientists. The large space rock has become the center of focus because of its expected close flyby of Earth on what is projected to be none other than Friday 13, 2029.
Asteroid 99942 Apophis is...
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April’s full Moon, perhaps best known as the Pink Moon, is about to grace the night sky. As with other full Moons, this month’s is known by many names, such as the Sprouting Grass Moon, and the Pesach or Passover Moon.
According to NASA, the Maine Farmer’s Almanac began publishing “Indian” names for full moons in...
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The “devil comet” will be showing off its horns this weekend to those in the Northern Hemisphere. Anyone wanting to catch a peak at this rare celestial event will want to do so this go round, as it will not be close enough for viewing with a pair of binoculars again for another 71 years.
While there is a chance...
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The upcoming total solar eclipse has been making plenty of headlines as of late, leaving some to wonder how agencies such as NASA devise the maps predicting the path of totality. Well, it all comes down to knowing the precise shape and position of the Moon, and a few other key features and environmental aspects...
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A new study from a survey of 91 pairs of twin stars named C3PO sheds new light on the so-called “three-body problem” that has befuddled scientists for centuries. At least 8%, or 1 in 12, of twin stars in the study show chemical anomalies that indicate one star had gobbled up planetary material that once orbited it...
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According to the European Space Agency (ESA), a 2.9-ton battery pallet was released from the International Space Station (ISS) on January 11, 2021. While most of the pallet, which comprises nine batteries in total, will burn up upon reentry, the ESA reports some parts will survive the trip and come crashing into the...
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It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No! It’s a satellite falling from space! A 2.5-ton European Space Agency (ESA) satellite that launched in 1995 is about to make a grand return to Earth today. During its service life, the ERS-2 satellite collected data on Earth’s land surfaces, oceans, and polar caps and monitored natural...
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Heads up! A potentially hazardous asteroid the size of a large skyscraper is about to have a close encounter with Earth, and everyone can watch live. No, asteroid 2008 OS7 does not pose a risk to anyone, but it will come within about 2.8 million kilometers, or 7.4 times the average lunar distance.
Asteroid 2008 OS7...
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This year’s total solar eclipse will not only last longer than the one in 2017, but will also be viewable in its totality by more people. 2024’s total solar eclipse will be viewable by an estimated 31.6 million people, while the one in 2017 was seen in its totality by about 12 million. And in terms of length of time...
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A small asteroid impacted Earth’s atmosphere over Berlin, Germany, with videos of the fireball lighting up social media. The 3 foot (1 meter) asteroid was detected shortly ahead of it entering Earth’s atmosphere.
A couple of days ago, NASA posted a tweet, remarking, “A tiny asteroid will disintegrate as a harmless...
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NASA plans on getting a bird's-eye view of asteroid Apophis, also known as the “God of Chaos,” as it makes an exceptionally close approach to Earth in 2029. The spacecraft that will have a front-row view is the same one that delivered a sample of asteroid Bennu back to Earth earlier this year.
OSIRIS-REx (Origins...
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NASA delivered a teaspoon size sample of the asteroid Bennu to be studied in the labs at the Natural History Museum in London. NASA describes the 500-meter (0.3 miles) wide asteroid as being the most dangerous rock in the solar system because it has a chance of hitting Earth within the next 300 years.
Scientists at...
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Astronomers were recently amazed to find an aurora-like display some 40,000 kilometers above a sunspot. Researchers from the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (NJIT-CSTR) detailed radio observations of the event that share characteristics with the auroral radio emissions...
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In true Halloween fashion, a comet twice the size of Mount Everest and that earned the nickname the “Devil Comet” is heading toward Earth. The comet, which has a far less intimidating scientific name, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, has a short-period orbit around the Sun of about once every 71 years.
Comet Pons-Brooks’...
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Jupiter will accompany this weekend's Hunter's Moon as the duo parade across the night sky together. The Hunter's Moon gets its name from the Algonquin Native American tribe and was used to remind native American cultures that it was time to hunt and store up meat for the winter.
The October Hunter's Moon might...
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