Earth’s Temporary Second Moon 2024 PT5 Bids Farewell as It Exits Orbit

Earth’s Temporary Second Moon 2024 PT5 Bids Farewell as It Exits Orbit

ByNews Polite

Earth recently captured a small asteroid known as 2024 PT5, temporarily transforming it into a second moon. This rare event was confirmed by astronomers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Complutense University of Madrid, offering a glimpse into these elusive “mini-moons” that Earth occasionally holds within its orbit. However,…

Asteroid Discovery Suggests Ingredients for Life on Earth Came From Space

Asteroid Discovery Suggests Ingredients for Life on Earth Came From Space

ByNews Polite

Two organic compounds essential for living organisms have been found in samples retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu, buttressing the notion that some ingredients crucial for the advent of life arrived on Earth aboard rocks from space billions of years ago. Scientists said on Tuesday they detected uracil and niacin in…

Asteroid Ryugu Sample Has Dust Grains Older Than Our Solar System

Asteroid Ryugu Sample Has Dust Grains Older Than Our Solar System

ByNews Polite

Examining samples from asteroid Ryugu, scientists have made a startling discovery. They have spotted microscopic grains of ancient materials that are even older than our Solar System. Located in the near-Earth solar orbit, asteroid Ryugu is shaped like a spinning top and orbits the Sun every 16 months. The Hayabusa2…

NASA’s James Webb Telescope Damaged After Being Hit By Space Rock: Report

NASA’s James Webb Telescope Damaged After Being Hit By Space Rock: Report

ByNews Polite

The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope by NASA, James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has suffered massive damage from an asteroid strike in May.  The telescope was built by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency…

Asteroid Bennu’s Surface Like a Pit of Plastic Balls, NASA’s Spacecraft Almost Sank Into It, Say Scientists

Asteroid Bennu’s Surface Like a Pit of Plastic Balls, NASA’s Spacecraft Almost Sank Into It, Say Scientists

ByNews Polite

While scientists believed that asteroid Bennu had a smooth and plain surface, they were recently astonished to learn the true nature of its exterior. An analysis of the data gathered by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft revealed that Bennu’s surface consists of loosely packed particles that resemble a pit filled with plastic…

NASA’s DART Asteroid Mission Could Severely Deform Target Asteroid, New Study Reveals

NASA’s DART Asteroid Mission Could Severely Deform Target Asteroid, New Study Reveals

ByNews Polite

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is the world’s first full-scale planetary defence test against potential asteroid impacts on Earth. Researchers now show that instead of leaving behind a relatively small crater, the impact of the DART spacecraft on its target could leave the asteroid near unrecognisable. A giant…

NASA Puts Pysche Mission on Hold, Blames Late Delivery of Navigation Software

NASA Puts Pysche Mission on Hold, Blames Late Delivery of Navigation Software

ByNews Polite

NASA put an asteroid mission on hold on Friday, blaming the late delivery of its own navigation software. The Psyche mission to a strange metal asteroid of the same name was supposed to launch this September or October. But the agency’s Jet Propulsion Lab was several months late delivering its…