Asteroid Archives

Clues to the Origin of Falling Space Objects “Previously Hidden in the Data” Are Being Revealed with Help from AI

Ryan Whalen·May 13, 2026

Hidden insights into the fall of meteors, long unrecognized in observational data, are being revealed by Lowell Observatory researchers.

Did Dante’s ‘Inferno’ Predict Impact Physics Hundreds of Years Before Its Invention?

Ryan Whalen·May 11, 2026

Dante Alighieri’s Inferno turns out to be an excellent model of impact physics, with Satan taking the role of an extinction-causing asteroid.

“There Was a Hole in the Ceiling”: Meteorite Smashes into Texas Home Amid Recent Rise in Space Object Reentries

Micah Hanks·March 22, 2026

A Texas woman says a meteorite crashed through the roof of her home on Saturday, following a loud boom reported by residents near Houston, Texas.

The Origins of a Mysterious Structure Beneath the North Sea Has Finally Been Revealed—Along With the Tsunami Its Formation Caused

Austin Burgess·March 18, 2026

After years of debate, scientists have finally solved the mystery of a structure hidden under the North Sea.

“A Mission That Pushes the Boundaries of Commercial Space”: Autonomous ‘SpacePilot’ Will Pilot Spacecraft to Asteroid Apophis

Christopher Plain·February 11, 2026

Commercial deep-space mission operator ExLabs has selected SpacePilot autonomous software for the 2029 Apophis asteroid intercept mission.

Scienstists Reveal Samples from Near-Earth Asteroid Bennu Hold a Rich Collection of Life-Giving Ingredients

MJ Banias·December 2, 2025

New analysis of samples from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu reveals a collection of organic molecules linked to the building blocks of life.

A New Object Lurking Near the Sun, Altering Matter with Light, and a Levitation Breakthrough

Micah Hanks·October 28, 2025

This week in stories from The Debrief, a team of physicists is using light to alter the magnetic nature of matter at room temperature, along with other innovations in science and technology.

Astronomers Just Spotted an Undiscovered Space Object Hiding in the Sun’s Glare—And It’s Moving Extremely Fast

Micah Hanks·October 27, 2025

Hidden by the Sun’s glare, a new space object has been found lurking in our Solar System, and it's one of the fastest-moving of its kind.

Hayabusa2 Asteroid Sample-Return Mission’s Next Touchdown Just Got Complicated

Ryan Whalen·September 19, 2025

Hayabusa2 is now facing an unexpected challenge: the asteroid it is targeting for its next visit is much smaller than previously expected.

Experts Say a Massive Space Object Will Speed Past Earth Tomorrow—Could It Strike Our Planet in the Future?

Micah Hanks·September 17, 2025

A massive space rock that once made its way onto a space agency's warning list for potentially dangerous objects is scheduled to pass by the Earth this Thursday, September 18, 2025.

Ryugu Asteroid Discovery “Forces Us to Rethink” Origins of Water on Our Planet

Ryan Whalen·September 13, 2025

Near-Earth asteroid Ryugu was previously covered in flowing water, say researchers examining samples returned by JAXA's Hayabusa2 mission.

China Says It Wants to Kill an Asteroid

Austin Burgess·September 12, 2025

According to China's space agency, the government is preparing to test a direct method of planetary defense by sending a spacecraft to collide with an asteroid.

China’s Tianwen-2 Launches to Retrieve Samples from Mysterious Asteroid Kamo’oalewa

Ryan Whalen·May 30, 2025

On May 28, China’s Tianwen-2 launched on a sample return mission to asteroid Kamo’oalewa, before heading out for a visit with the Comet 311P.

Astronomers Learn Something “Very Surprising” While Studying the Mysterious Asteroid Vesta

Ryan Whalen·April 30, 2025

Vesta, the strange object in our solar system that has long fascinated astronomers isn't what it appears according to new research.

A Green Fireball Exploded Above Australia, Shocking Residents and Raising Questions

Ryan Whalen·April 24, 2025

A green fireball brighter than the full moon surprised Australians with a massive bang Monday night, leaving questions about what occurred.

NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Had a Weird Close Encounter During Recent Asteroid Flyby, New Images Reveal

Micah Hanks·April 22, 2025

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft captured the most detailed images yet of an oddly shaped asteroid during its recent flyby.

Planetary Defense Experts Issue Update on Worrisome “City-Killer” Asteroid 2024 YR4

Micah Hanks·February 25, 2025

A near-Earth asteroid discovered by astronomers late last year that showed a rising potential for colliding with Earth has been downgraded, according to planetary defense experts.

Asteroid or Artifact? How a Tesla Roadster Caused a Cosmic Misidentification

Avi Loeb·January 28, 2025

Avi Loeb shares the story of how a Tesla Roadster had some astronomers convinced for a time that they had discovered a new asteroid.

Mysterious Object Orbiting Earth May Have Come from the Moon, Investigation Reveals

Micah Hanks·January 24, 2025

An unusual looking 33-foot-long object discovered orbiting Earth last year may have come from a surprising place.

Hidden For Eons Beneath the Atlantic Ocean, Scientists Have Made a Smashing Ancient Discovery

Micah Hanks·October 15, 2024

New advanced imagery reveals the existence of a second impact following the event associated with the extinction of the dinosaurs.

‘Killing’ Asteroids May Subject Earth to Meteoroid Bombardment, New Research Reveals

MJ Banias·August 23, 2024

A new study maps out the ejecta from NASA's Asteroid impact DART mission. Turns out, the debris could hit Earth in 7 years.

NASA Tracked Two Near-Earth Objects During Their Recent Close Approaches. One Wasn’t Traveling Alone.

Micah Hanks·July 6, 2024

New images reveal stunning images of a pair of near-Earth objects recently tracked by NASA. But that's not all they found.

Human-Sized “Hell Chicken” Roamed The Earth Millions of Years Ago, New Paleontological Research Finds

MJ Banias·January 26, 2024

Scientists have unearthed a new ancient species with a name straight out of a B-movie: the "Hell Chicken."

NASA’s Scout System Just Predicted an Asteroid Impact. Here’s What That Means for Planetary Defense.

Micah Hanks·January 25, 2024

This week, NASA’s Scout impact assessment system succeeded in calculating the trajectory of an asteroid that entered Earth’s atmosphere over Germany.

Groundbreaking Algorithm Successfully Identifies First ‘Potentially Hazardous Asteroid’

Tim McMillan·August 1, 2023

Discover how the HelioLinc3D algorithm spots 'Potentially Hazardous Asteroids,' enhancing Earth's defense and safety from celestial threats

Another One Bites the Alien Space Dust…

This week on The Debrief Weekly Report...

MJ Banias and Stephanie Gerk·March 31, 2023

On today’s episode, a new report from NASA indicates Earth may have a big asteroid problem, astronomers have discovered a novel space object, and scientists out of Tokyo want to search cosmic dust for signs of alien life.

Asteroid Ryugu, photographed by the Japanese Hayabusa-2 spacecraft (Credit: JAXA).

Asteroid Discovery Could Shed Light on the Mysterious Origins of Life on Earth

Micah Hanks·March 2, 2023

This week we look at how asteroid samples delivered to Earth by a Japanese spacecraft could shed light on the mysterious origins of life on Earth.

Curious ‘Oblong’ Object Detected on Radar Was Closely Tracked by NASA, Officials Say

Micah Hanks·February 21, 2023

NASA officials say an odd, oblong-shaped object detected on radar was tracked by the space agency’s Deep Space Network earlier this month.

Smashing Success: NASA Presents a Promising DART Mission Update

Micah Hanks·October 13, 2022

Welcome to this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief… now that NASA’s investigation team has had time to go...

Planetary Defense: How to Protect Earth from Deadly Asteroid Impacts

Micah Hanks·June 30, 2022

In this International Asteroid Day edition of the Intelligence Brief, we look at what NASA and others are doing to mitigate the threats of potential asteroid impacts in the future.

Don’t Look Up: When Asteroids Attack

Kenna Castleberry·December 30, 2021

While it seems unlikely our world will end anytime soon with a giant asteroid collision, Netflix's "Don't Look Up" raises relevant questions about asteroids and their place in our galaxy.

Solar Wind May Have Helped Create Life on Earth

Christopher Plain·December 9, 2021

New research has shown that the stream of charged particles emitted by the sun known as the solar...

Near-earth asteroid may be broken off chunk of the moon

Christopher Plain·November 12, 2021

A team of astronomers believe that a near earth asteroid could actually be a lost fragment of Earth’s...

New NASA Video Highlights How Often Asteroids Hit Earth

Christopher Plain·November 10, 2021

After an asteroid the size of a small refrigerator recently whipped by Earth at an altitude of only...

This Asteroid No One Saw Coming Almost Hit Earth

Christopher Plain·November 8, 2021

An asteroid the size of a small refrigerator nearly collided with Earth on October 24th, and no one...

We Might Be Able to Nuke an Asteroid to Save the World After All, Study Says

Jazz Shaw·October 19, 2021

A recent study by a team of scientists says that under the right conditions, a nuclear blast actually could be used to save the Earth from an incoming asteroid.

NASA Releases Stunning Animation of Upcoming Psyche 16 Asteroid Mission

Christopher Plain·September 16, 2021

NASA has released a stunning video animation of their upcoming mission to an asteroid, Psyche 16, over 370 million miles from Earth.

Mysterious Asteroid Phaethon is Challenging What We Understand About Comets

Micah Hanks·August 18, 2021

A recent study proposes that the key to a mystery surrounding comet-like asteroid Phaethon could be a salty one.

Remembering Tunguska: A Mystery Explosion that Baffles The CIA Over a Century Later

Theories Continue to Run Wild As Scientists Try to Explain the 15 Megaton Blast That Shook Sibera

Ryan Sprague·July 1, 2021

Several theories have been brought forward to explain it, but the Tunguska event remains a mystery over a hundred years later.

New Findings May Place the Asteroid Apophis Within Striking Distance of Earth

Apophis May Strike Earth in 2068 Due to Yarkovsky Effect.

MJ Banias·December 2, 2020

New data presented in late October indicates that the 340-meter-wide Apophis asteroid may drift much closer to Earth than initially thought.