asteroid - SlashGear

Fireball makes its way across the sky in Northern California

Brian Sin | Feb 16, 2013

It looks like Russia isn't the only place getting some astronomical action. Within the same day that a meteor exploded over Russia and injured around 1200 people, folks over in Northern California spotted a 'meteor' zipping across the sky. The spectacle was caught on video by a couple of people driving in the San Francisco area. Not too long after the video was posted, many others took to social media to announce their sighting of the 'meteor' as well.

Scientist propose solar-based DE-STAR asteroid destroyer

Brittany A. Roston | Feb 16, 2013

It has been an eventful year for space enthusiasts, with it seeming like a new asteroid is announced every week, each one coming closer and closer to our blue marble. Then, just a few days ago, a large asteroid smashed into Russia, injuring over 1000 people. Now a researcher and a physicist have teamed up to propose a solution to the problem - a laser-beam generating solar-based asteroid destroyer that could destroy a space rock half the size of a football field in 30 minutes.

Fly-by asteroid said to be worth $195b in materials

Craig Lloyd | Feb 13, 2013

Late last month, we told you about an asteroid that will fly by the Earth at close proximity on February 15. Essentially, it will squeeze its way in between the Earth and the Moon, which is actually really close, and one company is saying that the asteroid is worth $195 billion in materials, such as metals and propellants. However, others aren't so sure about that figure.

Herschel Space Observatory finds Apophis asteroid is larger than believed

Brittany A. Roston | Jan 11, 2013

The large Apophis asteroid passed by Earth a few days ago, some 9,000,000 miles from our fair planet. The asteroid, which is named after an Egyptian demon, was said to measure 270 to 275 meters wide. The European Space Astronomy Center's Herschel Space Observatory observed as it neared, however, that it is much larger than that.

120 foot wide asteroid passes closer to Earth than the moon

Chris Burns | Dec 12, 2012

If you're worried about asteroids smacking the planet on a daily basis, you'll be less than excited to hear that a giant rock approximately 120 feet wide just passed between Earth and our moon. This is extremely close to the planet Earth for an asteroid of that size, if you did not know, and at that size the rock would, indeed, do substantial damage to the planet if it ever did decide to come down and visit the surface. At the moment we're pretty much safe from what's called "Asteroid 2012 XE54."

Fighting asteroids with paintballs: an MIT graduate student’s winning strategy

Brittany A. Roston | Oct 26, 2012

It’s like something out a strange science fiction movie: a giant asteroid careening towards earth is diverted using a massive blast of paintballs fired into space, saving mankind and forever giving paintball-lovers bragging rights over airsoft fans. As odd as it sounds, this very proposal earned Sung Wook Paek, Department of Aeronautics and Astronauts at MIT, the 2012 Move an Asteroid Technical Paper Competition. And yes, there’s a video.

Asteroid the size of a house to pass Earth tonight

Brittany A. Roston | Oct 12, 2012

Tonight, an asteroid the size of a house - dubbed 2012 TC4 by NASA - will pass by Earth, coming in at one-quarter of the distance between the moon and this rock we call home (aka, 59,000 miles). The 2012 TC4 asteroid was discovered on October 4th, and scientists say it does not pose a risk. You can watch the asteroid fly by the old-fashioned way using a small telescope, or you can track it online and watch a live video feed of its flyby.

Students find that no bomb is powerful enough to destroy “Armageddon” asteroid

Shane McGlaun | Aug 9, 2012

A group of students from the University of Leicester has announced that they have debunked the premise of the Bruce Willis flick Armageddon. If you're a fan of science fiction, you might recall the 1998 movie where Bruce Willis and his band of well drilling experts were sent the surface of an asteroid on a path to hit the earth. They used a nuclear weapon to split the asteroid in half so it passed harmlessly by the Earth.

Former astronauts push private asteroid hunting Sentinel telescope project

Shane McGlaun | Jun 29, 2012

Two former astronauts who went into space during different eras are working together to push a new private space telescope that will help detect asteroids in time to give humanity a chance to react. The two astronauts are Apollo moon pilot Rusty Schweickart and space shuttle astronaut Ed Lu. The two astronauts are at the helm of the project with the goal of building, launching, and flying an infrared space telescope with a single mission devoted to tracking near-Earth asteroids.