Jay TateThe European Space Agency ESA and NASA are working together to determine how the Earth might be protected against the threat posed by asteroids by altering their trajectory. VTT is taking part in the project by determining the mineral composition of the asteroids. This is happening for the first time with a nanosatellite mounted hyperspectral camera.
…
Jay TateDistances in the solar system are vast, and it typically takes millions of years for small bodies to migrate from one orbit to another. But researchers recently discovered a “super highway”, where interactions among the planets are capable of sending comets and asteroids from Jupiter to Neptune in as little as a decade.
…
Jay TateBlack sandy dust found in a capsule brought to Earth by a Japanese space probe is from the distant asteroid Ryugu, scientists confirmed after opening it on Monday.
The discovery comes a week after the Hayabusa-2 probe dropped off its capsule, which entered the atmosphere in a streak of light before landing in the Australian desert and then being transported to Japan.
…
Jay TateMass extinctions of life on Earth appear to follow a regular pattern, a new study suggests.
In fact, widespread die-offs of land-dwelling animals – which include amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds – follow a cycle of about 27 million years, the study reports.
The study also said these mass extinctions coincide with major asteroid impacts and devastating volcanic outpourings of lava.
…
Jay TateResearchers have discovered a new superhighway network to travel through the Solar System much faster than was previously possible. Such routes can drive comets and asteroids near Jupiter to Neptune’s distance in under a decade and to 100 astronomical units in less than a century.
They could be used to send spacecraft to the far reaches of our planetary system relatively fast,
…
Jay TateOn Dec. 6 local time (Dec. 5 in the United States), Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 dropped a capsule to the ground of the Australian Outback from about 120 miles (or 200 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. Inside that capsule is some of the most precious cargo in the solar system: dust that the spacecraft collected earlier this year from the surface of asteroid Ryugu.
…
Jay TateOn 6 December 2020, JAXA’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft will arrive back at Earth to drop a canister into the Woomera Test Range in Australia. The canister will contain samples taken from asteroid Ryugu during two collection events in 2019.
The first manoeuvre, in February 2019, collected material from the asteroid’s surface.
…
Jay TateAstrophysicists from Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) joined the international research team for explaining the difference in the results of observation of the comet 41P/ Tuttle – Giacobini – Kresak. Researchers believe that data obtained by three independent teams are complementary and its complex analysis helps to unravel the mystery of dust chemical composition of comet 41P and other conundrums of the Universe.
…
Jay TateA comet discovered last year is offering scientists new insights into how these objects “turn on” and evolve, as it actually transitions out of the Centaur population and into the Jupiter Family of Comets (JFCs), according to a paper by Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Jordan Steckloff.
“The newly discovered comet 2019 LD2 (ATLAS) is a Centaur,
…
Jay TateFor as long as he can remember, Cole Gregg has been interested in space. Last week, the Western University graduate astronomy student had a night he’ll never forget as he spotted a previously undiscovered asteroid flashing through the night sky.
Studying at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
…
