Planetary Defense

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  Christmas Eve Asteroid Alert: 120-Foot Space Rock Racing Toward Earth

  With a size of 120 feet and a close approach on December 24, this asteroid will pass safely at a distance of 4.48 million miles.

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  Meteoroid Trails Could Help Detect Potentially Hazardous Comets Years in Advance

  Meteoroid trails from long-period comets could provide early warnings of potentially dangerous comets near Earth, giving planetary scientists time to prepare. By studying these trails, scientists can track the paths of rarely visible comets that could pose a risk of impact, helping prevent catastrophic events. With the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observ...

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  NASA Concludes NEOWISE Mission After Successful Asteroid Detections

  NASA has officially decommissioned the NEOWISE mission, a key component of its planetary defense strategy. Over its more than 10-year lifespan, NEOWISE exceeded its objectives by detecting thousands of asteroids and comets, including many near-Earth objects that could potentially pose a threat to our planet. The infrared data collected by the space...

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  Asteroid 2007 FT3 Poses No Threat To Earth, NASA Confirms

  NASA assures that an 'unlocated' asteroid, comparable in size to the Shard, will not collide with Earth on October 5th.

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  NASA DART Spacecraft Successfully Slams Into Asteroid Dimorphos in First Planetary Defence Test

  NASA on Monday successfully crashed into an asteroid in the world's first test of a planetary defense system, as the US space agency continues to work on technology to prevent potential meteorite collisions with Earth, that could threaten life on the planet. The DART spacecraft was launched by a SpaceX rocket in November 2021, and made most of its ...

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  NASA's Spacecraft DART Successfully Collides With Asteroid

  Hurtling through the solar system at hypersonic speed on Monday, NASA's DART spacecraft slammed itself into a distant asteroid in a test of the world's first planetary defense system.

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  NASA DART Team Confirms Target Asteroid Dimorphos' Orbit Ahead of Impact

  NASA plans to complete its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) test in October, and the US space agence recently completed an observation campaign to confirm the orbit of the target asteroid, using powerful telescopes to verify the orbit ahead of the impact later this year. NASA wants to attempt to modify the course of the Dimorphos asteroid, a...

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  NASA To Divert Asteroid In Test Of "Planetary Defense"

  In the 1998 Hollywood blockbuster "Armageddon," Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck race to save the Earth from being pulverized by an asteroid.

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  What if an Asteroid Were Going to Hit Earth? NASA Expert Answers

  What if a rock big enough to cause large-scale damage, say an asteroid, were to hit Earth? NASA asked one of its experts the question. Dr. Kelly Fast said it's important to find the asteroids “before they find us.” She, however, added there's no known threat to Earth.

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  Large Asteroid on Near Miss Course for Earth on a Friday the 13th in 2029, Impact Exercise Conducted

  Apophis asteroid will interestingly pass by Earth on a near-miss Earth trajectory on a Friday the 13th (April 13, 2029), gracing a day considered unlucky in Western superstition.

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  What if an Asteroid Was About to Hit Earth? Scientists Ponder Question

  The sixth International Planetary Defense Conference has begun at the University of Maryland's campus in College Park.

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  NASA To Observe Asteroid Flyby To Test Planetary Defense Technology

  A small asteroid that is expected to fly close to the Earth will provide NASA an opportunity to test its network of observatories and systems for planetary defense, scientists say.