A large asteroid designated 1998 OR2 is expected to flyby Earth at 16.36 LD / 0.04205 AU (6.2 million km / 3.9 million miles) at 09:56 UTC on April 29, 2020. 1998 OR2 was discovered at Haleakala in Hawaii on July 24, 1998, by NASA and the Jet Propulsion…
A new study has identified the first known permanent set of asteroids originating from outside our solar system. These are believed to have been captured from other stars billions of years ago, orbiting the Sun in disguise ever since. The findings came more than two…
Although Comet Atlas (C/2019 Y4) continues fading and fragmenting, newly-found comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) has been found to be brightening firmly. Meanwhile, C/2017 T2 (PanSTARRS) is holding steady at 8th magnitude and a new Comet Atlas — C/2019 Y1 — discovered on…
Newly-discovered comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) has broken up before its much-anticipated show, with at least three fragments observed on Saturday and Sunday, April 11 and 12, 2020. ATLAS was discovered on December 28, 2019, in the constellation of Ursa Major. Over the…
A newly-discovered comet named C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) is now crossing the orbit of Mars as it makes its way toward the Sun. The object has been brightening so rapidly since its discovery on December 28, 2019, that some astronomers believe it will be visible to the naked…
A bright fireball exploded over Belgium at 02:04 UTC on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The International Meteor Organization (IMO) received 6 reports from eyewitnesses including those in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Germany. According to IMO, the meteoroid entered…
A group of researchers discovered more evidence of a catastrophic cosmic impact around 12 800 years ago that possibly caused the total destruction of Abu Hureyra in Syria. The site is believed to be one of the first towns on Earth where hunter-gatherers and nomads…
Researchers reporting in Nature Astronomy revealed first detailed images of asteroid 2 Pallas, including its heavily cratered surface. Pallas has a diameter of about 513 km (318 miles), which is roughly 15 percent of the moon's diameter. It is the third-largest…
A very bright fireball described to be green in color was seen streaking through the sky over Malaysia and Singapore on February 11, 2020. According to the American Meteor Society (AMS), the meteor was spotted around 05:01 LT on February 12 (February 11 at 21:01…
Some scientists theorize that Jupiter acts like a giant space shield– due to its tremendous mass, it sucks in or deflects dangerous space objects. However, studies led by American planetary physicist Kevin Grazier demonstrate that the planet is actually a threat…
