Scientists have obtained remarkable new insights into the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

They have been examining rocks from the crater that the 15km-wide space object dug out of what is now the Gulf of Mexico some 66 million years ago.

…

The Moon is bombarded by so much space rock that its surface gets a complete facelift every 81,000 years, according to a study released Wednesday based on NASA data.

This churn — affecting the top two centimetres (nearly an inch) of mostly loose moon dust —

…

A team of researchers has clarified the origin of the rings recently discovered around two minor planets known as centaurs, and their results suggest the existence of rings around other centaurs. These findings were published on August 29 in Astrophysical Journal Letters,

…

Scout, a new computer system, will allow for the detection of potentially dangerous asteroids, and calculate their possible impact point on the Earth’s surface. The program can identify asteroids likely to hit the Earth, automatically calculating the path and impact of celestial bodies,

…

Scientists have determined the origin of the rings that surround a pair of minor planets orbiting between Jupiter and Neptune.

The minor planets are known as centaurs, and are just two of 44,000 such objects. Centaurs have a diameter of at least 1 kilometer and follow unstable orbits that cross or have crossed the orbits of one of the giant planets.

…

Europe’s comet chaser, Rosetta, recently performed a couple of remarkable feats. After Rosetta discovered ESA’s lost Philae lander lodged in a crevice of Comet 67P, it has also discovered complicated organic molecules on the comet’s surface.

Rosetta performed all these amazing achievements right before it runs out of fuel and funding.

…

The US space agency Thursday launched its first mission to collect dust from an asteroid, the kind of cosmic body that may have delivered life-giving materials to Earth billions of years ago.

The unmanned spacecraft, known as OSIRIS-REx,

…

Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft has finally spotted its tiny lander Philae, thought to be lost forever, stuck in a ditch on the surface of a comet hurtling through space, ground controllers said Monday.

“THE SEARCH IS OVER! I’ve found @Philae2014!!”

…

Ceres is covered in countless small, young craters, but none are larger than 175 miles (280 kilometers) in diameter. To scientists, this is a huge mystery, given that the dwarf planet must have been hit by numerous large asteroids during its 4.5 billion-year lifetime.

…

Credit: University of Western Ontario

Using newly developed methodology, planetary scientists from Western University have re-estimated the diameter of eight well-known impact craters on Earth. The journal Science Advances published an explanation of the new technique and the improved estimations today.

…