Latest Near-Earth object Stories
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, caught a glimpse of the comet that the agency's EPOXI mission will visit in November. The WISE observation will help the EPOXI team put together a large-scale picture of the comet, known as Hartley 2. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) "WISE's infrared vision provides data that complement what EPOXI...
NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, caught a glimpse of the comet that the agency's EPOXI mission will visit in November. The WISE observation will help the EPOXI team put together a large-scale picture of the comet, known as Hartley 2."WISE's infrared vision provides data that complement what EPOXI will see with its visible-light and near-infrared instruments," said James Bauer, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "It's as if WISE can see an...
 Although WISE has 'warmed up,' NASA has decided the mission will still continue. WISE will now focus on our nearest neighbors -- the asteroids and comets traveling together with our solar system's planets around the sun."Two of our four infrared detectors still work even at warmer temperatures, so we can use those bands to continue our hunt for asteroids and comets," said Amy Mainzer of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Mainzer is the principal investigator of...
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Amateur astronomers using backyard telescopes were the first to detect two small objects that burned up in Jupiter's atmosphere on June 3 and Aug. 20. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Professional astronomers at NASA and other institutions followed up on the discovery and gathered detailed information on the objects, which produced bright spots on...
Amateur astronomers working with professional astronomers have spotted two fireballs lighting up Jupiter's atmosphere this summer, marking the first time Earth-based telescopes have captured relatively small objects burning up in the atmosphere of the giant planet. The two fireballs "“ which produced bright freckles on Jupiter that were visible through backyard telescopes "“ occurred on June 3, 2010, and August 20, 2010, respectively.A new paper that includes both pros and amateurs, led...
A pair of asteroids will pass within the moon's distance of Earth today, but there is no possible threat of impact, according to officials at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)."Both asteroids should be observable near closest approach to Earth with moderate-sized amateur telescopes," the U.S. space agency reported on their website Wednesday. "Neither of these objects has a chance of hitting Earth."The two objects were only discovered earlier this...
New research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals that asteroids somewhat near Earth, termed near-Earth objects, are a mixed bunch, with a surprisingly wide array of compositions. Like a piñata filled with everything from chocolates to fruity candies, these asteroids come in assorted colors and compositions. Some are dark and dull; others are shiny and bright. The Spitzer observations of 100 known near-Earth asteroids demonstrate that the objects' diversity is greater than...
Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Mission StatusNASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, is warming up. Team members say the spacecraft is running out of the frozen coolant needed to keep its heat-sensitive instrument chilled.The telescope has two coolant tanks that keep the spacecraft's normal operating temperature at 12 Kelvin (minus 438 degrees Fahrenheit). The outer, secondary tank is now depleted, causing the temperature to increase. One of WISE's infrared detectors, the...
NASA will host an interactive workshop to identify objectives for exploration missions to near-Earth objects, or NEOs, on Aug. 10-11 at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington.The event will bring together experts and key leaders from NASA, other government agencies, industry, academia, and international communities. They will discuss past experiences and focus on objectives, capabilities, and concepts of operations for human and robotic exploration of NEOs.The primary goals for the...
Lawmakers are looking for ways to keep Earth shielded from an asteroid or comet impact. Â A new bill introduced to Congress proposes establishing a government-sponsored commission in order to study a major space rock collision with Earth and how prepared we are to face such a danger. There is a growing choir of concern regarding Near Earth Objects, or NEOs. Experts say that while the annual probability of the Earth being struck by a huge asteroid or comet is small, the consequences of such...
Latest Near-Earth object Reference Libraries
NEAR-Shoemaker Mission -- The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous - Shoemaker (NEAR Shoemaker), renamed after its launch in honor of Gene Shoemaker, is an unmanned spacecraft designed to study the near-Earth asteroid Eros from close orbit over a period of a year. The primary scientific objectives of NEAR were to return data on the bulk properties, composition, mineralogy, morphology, internal mass distribution and magnetic field of Eros. Secondary objectives include studies of regolith...
Near-Earth Object -- Near-Earth Objects (NEO) are asteroids, comets and large meteoroids whose orbit intersects Earth's orbit and which may therefore pose a collision danger. Due to their size and proximity, NEO's are also more easily accessible for spacecraft from Earth and are important for future scientific investigation and commercial development. In fact, some near-Earth asteroids can be reached with much less ΔV (change in velocity) than the Moon. In the United States, NASA...
Near-Earth Asteroid -- Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are asteroids whose orbit intersects Earth's orbit and which may therefore pose a collision danger, as well as being most easily accessible for spacecraft from Earth. In fact, some near-Earth asteroids can be reached with much less ΔV than the Moon. The most famous near-Earth asteroid is 433 Eros that was visited by NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous probe. A few hundred such near-Earth asteroids are known, ranging in size up...
433 Eros -- The asteroid 433 Eros was named after the Greek god of love Eros. It is an S-type asteroid approximately 13 x 13 x 33 km in size, the second-largest near-Earth asteroid. It was visited by the NEAR Shoemaker probe, which first orbited it taking extensive photographs of its surface and then in 2001 at the end of its mission was landed on the asteroid's surface using only its maneuvering jets. Depending on where they stood on Eros, a person who weighed 200 pounds (90...
