Tag: Asteroids
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Asteroid Ryugu revealed by approaching Japanese spacecraft
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated June 21 with new images. These views of asteroid Ryugu were taken June 18 through June 20 by the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft’s telescopic optical navigation camera, showing the rotating object as the probe approached. Credit: JAXA, University of Tokyo, Koichi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University…
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Government study looks to improve planning for possible asteroid impact
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION This image, taken in 2015, shows Earth as seen by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), aboard NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) spacecraft.Credit: NASA The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is spearheading a 10-year plan to improve detection of near-Earth asteroids and comets that…
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Tech titan Nathan Myhrvold revisits NASA asteroid argument in peer-reviewed paper
in his office at Intellectual Ventures in Bellevue, Wash., Nathan Myhrvold shows off a fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteorite, which was left behind by an asteroid impact in 2013. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) Nathan Myhrvold is back, and this time he’s got peer review on his side. Two years ago, the Seattle tech pioneer…
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Asteroid Institute’s first fellows come with credentials that are out of this world
The Asteroid Detection Analysis and Mapping software, or ADAM, can plot the courses of multiple asteroids and other celestial bodies, as shown in this visualization. (B612 Asteroid Institute via YouTube) A Silicon Valley institute focusing on the perils and prospects posed by near-Earth objects has chosen its first senior research fellows to work at the…
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Asteroid Institute adds Google Cloud and AGI as tech partners for asteroid tracking
The Asteroid Detection Analysis and Mapping software, or ADAM, can plot the courses of multiple asteroids and other celestial bodies, as shown in this visualization. (B612 Asteroid Institute via YouTube) Google Cloud and AGI (a.k.a. Analytical Graphics Inc.) have gotten on board with the B612 Asteroid Institute to develop a cloud-based platform for keeping track…
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Planetary Resources asteroid venture misses fundraising target, forcing cutbacks
Artwork shows Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-6 spacecraft in orbit. (Planetary Resources Illustration) Planetary Resources, a Redmond, Wash.-based venture that aims to make a fortune mining asteroids, is facing a more down-to-earth challenge: a fundraising shortfall. Just last month, the company had its Arkyd-6 prototype space telescope launched into orbit by an Indian PSLV rocket, and that spacecraft…
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Asteroid missions on track to reach their destinations in 2018
Artist’s concept of the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft at asteroid Ryugu. Credit: JAXA/Akihiro Ikeshita Pioneering spacecraft from NASA and the Japanese space agency promise to reveal two unexplored asteroids later this year, officials said Wednesday, beginning surveys that will culminate in daring descents to capture samples for return to Earth, where eager scientists await a hands-on…
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An interstellar interloper is dashing through our solar system
Artist’s concept of interstellar asteroid 1I/2017 U1 (‘Oumuamua) as it passed through the solar system after its discovery in October 2017. The aspect ratio of up to 10:1 is unlike that of any object seen in our own solar system. Image credit: European Southern Observatory / M. Kornmesser Astronomers say an object observed speeding through…
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Aloha, ‘Oumuamua! Scientists confirm that interstellar asteroid is a cosmic oddball
An artist’s conception shows what the interstellar asteroid ‘Oumuamua might look like. (ESO Illustration / M. Kornmesser) Update: Scientists say the interstellar asteroid known as ‘Oumuamua is like nothing that’s been seen in the solar system before, with an “extreme oblong shape” that’s as much as 10 times as long as it is wide. The…
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Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-6 prototype imaging satellite has left the building
Workers prepare Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-6 technology demonstrator satellite for shipment at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash. (Planetary Resources via YouTube) Planetary Resources has been working on its Arkyd-6 imaging satellite for years, and today the company reported that the printer-sized spacecraft has finally begun its journey to an Indian launch pad. Arkyd-6 is considered…