The state of planetary defense in the 2020s

The Earth exists in a dangerous environment. Cosmic bodies, like asteroids and comets, are constantly zooming through space and often crash into our planet. Most of these are too small to pose a threat, but some can be cause for concern.

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Youngest pair of asteroids in solar system detected

An international team of astronomers has discovered a pair of asteroids that split off from their parent body a mere 300 years ago. The duo is exceptional because it is the youngest known “asteroid pair” by at least a factor of ten,

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Astronomers create new global force to stop Elon Musk’s internet satellites hiding killer asteroids

Megaconstellations are corrupting astronomers’ view of space and could impact planetary defences against incoming space debris

A union of astronomers is taking action to protect the study of the night sky from the effects of the thousands of satellites launched by companies such as SpaceX.

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Did comet’s fiery destruction lead to downfall of ancient Hopewell?

The rapid decline of the Hopewell culture about 1,500 years ago might be explained by falling debris from a near-Earth comet that created a devastating explosion over North America, laying waste to forests and Native American villages alike.

Researchers with the University of Cincinnati found evidence of a cosmic airburst at 11 Hopewell archaeological sites in three states stretching across the Ohio River Valley.

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NASA asteroid tracking system now capable of full sky search

The NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS)-a state-of-the-art asteroid detection system operated by the University of Hawaii (UH) Institute for Astronomy (IfA) for the agency’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO)-has reached a new milestone by becoming the first survey capable of searching the entire dark sky every 24 hours for near-Earth objects (NEOs) that could pose a future impact hazard to Earth.

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Looking Up at the Asteroids in the Neighborhood

Asteroids fly through our solar system all the time, but it’s rare for us to take notice of them. But that’s changed this week, as an asteroid passes within 1,231,184 miles of Earth on January 18. The asteroid, dubbed 7482 (1994 PC1),

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NASA Solar Sail Mission to Chase Tiny Asteroid after Artemis I Launch

NEA Scout will visit an asteroid estimated to be smaller than a school bus – the smallest asteroid ever to be studied by a spacecraft.

Launching with the Artemis I uncrewed test flight, NASA’s shoebox-size Near-Earth Asteroid Scout will chase down what will become the smallest asteroid ever to be visited by a spacecraft.

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A good piece in the Sun newspaper.

This is a surprisingly good piece in the Sun!

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17253271/brit-tracks-nearby-asteroids-nasa-save-humanity-apocalypse/

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Asteroid ‘Apophis’ predicted to skim dangerously close to Earth in 2029

Earlier, NASA said that Apophis – the poster child for “hazardous asteroids” – was no longer deemed a threat for Earth based on a refined estimate of its orbit around the Sun.

Asteroid 99942 Apophis, estimated to measure 340 metres (1,100 ft) across and identified by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as one of the most hazardous asteroids that could impact Earth,

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Rock composition determines how deadly a meteorite impact is

A new University of Liverpool study has found that the minerology of the rocks that a meteorite hits, rather than the size of the impact, determines how deadly an impact it will have.

The earth has been bombarded by meteorites throughout its long history.

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The Spaceguard Centre is a working observatory, and the main source of information
about near Earth objects in the UK.

We are open Wednesday to Sunday, so why not Visit Us?

Contact Us

The Spaceguard Centre,
Llanshay Lane,
Knighton, Powys,
LD7 1LW. United Kingdom.

Tel: 01547 520247 mail@spaceguardcentre.com