Latest news with #asteroids
Reuters
7 days ago
- Science
- Reuters
Could this giant telescope help protect the Earth from asteroid threats?
A new telescope could transform our understanding of the universe, and help protect the Earth from asteroid threats by creating the largest map of the night sky, multiple times a night every night, for the next 10 years, according to astronomers. Alice Rizzo reports.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Science news this week: 'City-killer' asteroid swarms and a buried toddler 'Ice Prince'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. This week's science news started off with a bang as Europe's largest active volcano erupted Monday morning (June 2), spewing ash and black smoke around 21,300 feet (6,500 meters) into the air and sending tourists scrambling. Italy's Mount Etna towers over nearby Catania, whose metro area is home to more than 1 million people, and officials have warned those nearest the eruption that gas and smog from the eruption can cause respiratory problems and other health issues. And speaking of explosions, a very public feud erupted between Elon Musk and President Trump on Thursday afternoon (June 5). The social media spat culminated in Musk threatening to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft "immediately," raising concerns over the future of America's space industry. A hidden swarm of large space rocks around Venus could pose a threat to our planet one day, new research suggests. All 20 "city-killer" asteroids are thought to be wider than 460 feet (140 m), meaning they could wipe out a heavily populated area if they were to impact our planet. These asteroids currently pose no threat to Earth. However, if they get too close to Earth's gravitational field, that could potentially set them on a collision course with our planet. Discover more space news —Ginormous planet discovered around tiny red star challenges our understanding of solar systems —NASA spacecraft finds solar 'cannonballs' may have stripped Mars of its water — proving decades-old theory —Long, dark 'streaks' spotted on Mars aren't what scientists thought Leopards and jaguars are hard to distinguish at first glance: Both are large predators with similar builds and black and tan spots. Although similar in appearance, leopards and jaguars separated from their common ancestor between 3.6 million and 2.5 million years ago and live on opposite sides of the globe. So how can you tell them apart? Archaeologists have uncovered the 1,350-year-old remains of an 18-month-old toddler with bright-blue eyes. The youngster was buried with rare riches, including a small sword, silk clothes, a gold cross and a piglet. The child, who is thought to have died between A.D. 670 and 680, was dubbed the "Ice Prince" because the archaeologists who found the remains froze the burial chamber to excavate its contents in a single block. An analysis revealed the boy had died from a "chronic infection" in his middle ear, and the lavish treasures surrounding his body suggest he was from a wealthy and important family. Discover more archaeology news —Prosciutto di Portici: A portable sundial that looks like a pork leg — and it was likely owned by Julius Caesar's father-in-law before Mount Vesuvius erupted —Ancient DNA reveals mysterious Indigenous group from Colombia that disappeared 2,000 years ago —Braided gold Viking arm ring discovered by amateur metal detectorist on Isle of Man —Facing steep funding cuts, scientists propose using black holes as particle colliders instead of building new ones on Earth —Mysterious 'mega-tsunamis' that shook the entire world for 9 days revealed by satellite —Nuclear fusion record smashed as German scientists take 'a significant step forward' to near-limitless clean energy —College student discovers psychedelic fungus that eluded LSD inventor Scientists at NASA are developing plans to build a giant radio telescope in an enormous crater on the far side of the moon. The $2 billion project aims to help unravel some of the universe's biggest mysteries, but it could also act as a backup telescope in case leaking radiation from private satellite "megaconstellations" becomes too disruptive for radio instruments here on Earth. The proposed telescope would be built entirely by robots in a 0.8-mile-wide (1.3 km) depression in the moon's Northern hemisphere, although NASA are keeping its exact location under wraps. If approved, the Lunar Crater Radio Telescope could be constructed as early as the 2030s — but it won't actually be the first ever radio telescope on the moon. If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best long reads, book excerpts and interviews published this week. —'Foolhardy at best, and deceptive and dangerous at worst': Don't believe the hype — here's why artificial general intelligence isn't what the billionaires tell you it is (Book excerpt) —10 weird and wonderful things to look at under a microscope (Countdown) —Can adults grow new brain cells? (Query) And something for the skywatchers. 'Strawberry Moon' 2025: June's full moon is about to break an annual record Wild cockatoos in Western Sydney have learned a clever trick to access water from public drinking fountains. The twist-handle faucets are no easy feat to turn on, requiring fine motor skills in a coordinated sequence of actions — not something a bird would stumble across by accident. The birds use both of their feet to manipulate the twist handle, then lower their body weight to turn it clockwise and keep it from springing back. The cockatoos have become such fans of the fountains that they will even wait in line to have a drink, in what researchers believe now qualifies as a new local tradition. Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp, we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.
Gizmodo
05-06-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
Upcoming Telescope Predicted to Discover Millions of Hidden Solar System Objects
With 3.2 billion pixels and a decade-long search, the Rubin Observatory will reveal what's been hiding in plain sight. A new observatory perched high in the Chilean Andes is about to blow the lid off our solar system—and scientists say it's going to be like switching from a black-and-white TV to 4K color. The National Science Foundation and Department of Energy project, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, is slated to begin operations later this year. Armed with the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy and a sweeping, ultra-sensitive telescope, the observatory is expected to discover millions of previously unknown asteroids, comets, and other planetary leftovers—some of which venture uncomfortably close to our own planet. Now, researchers led by Meg Schwamb at Queen's University Belfast have developed an open-source software program, Sorcha, that predicts the discoveries that Rubin may make. The papers describing the software and the associated predictions are available on the preprint server arXiv. The team estimates that Rubin will triple the number of known near-Earth objects (NEOs) from about 38,000 to 127,000, detect ten times more trans-Neptunian objects than currently cataloged, and provide colorful, detailed observations of over 5 million main-belt asteroids (up from about 1.4 million). 'With this data, we'll be able to update the textbooks of solar system formation and vastly improve our ability to spot—and potentially deflect—the asteroids that could threaten Earth,' said Mario Juric, a member of the team and an astronomer at the University of Washington, in a university release. Sorcha models the solar system's current structure, then projects what Rubin is likely to see, based on its planned observations. It's the first end-to-end simulator for Rubin, meaning that it models expectations from simulated photons of light from distant sources to the expected science to come from those findings. The Rubin Observatory's secret weapon is its 3.2-gigapixel LSST camera, which can scan an area roughly 45 times the area of the full Moon each night. In less than a week, the camera can survey the entire night sky, and over the next decade, it'll produce a cosmic time-lapse comprising 20 terabytes of nightly data. Rubin's data will help scientists piece together how our solar system formed and evolved. The predicted stats are staggering: 127,000 NEOs, 109,000 Jupiter Trojans, 37,000 distant Kuiper Belt objects, and more. Rubin will find them all in color and motion, revealing spin rates, surface types, and more. In turn, these observations will help space agencies and scientists land on their next observational targets. The Sorcha code, along with simulated sky maps and orbital animations, is available now at so researchers can prepare for the LSST data to come. The first public images from Rubin's 'First Look' event will be revealed on June 23.
The Independent
05-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
The city-killing asteroid swarm hiding near Earth's neighbouring planet
A new study warns that a swarm of large, undiscovered asteroids near Venus could pose a future threat to Earth. These co-orbital asteroids, likely originating from the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, are estimated to be over 140 metres in size, capable of causing city-sized damage upon impact. Scientists have discovered around 20 asteroids orbiting Venus, but suspect many more remain hidden due to the Sun's glare. Computer simulations suggest that these hidden asteroids could change trajectories, potentially leading to a collision course with Earth over millennia. Researchers hope the Rubin Observatory and future Venus-based space missions will help detect these obscured asteroids and better assess the risk they pose.
The Independent
05-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Giant asteroid swarm near Venus could pose ‘invisible threat' to Earth, scientists warn
A swarm of giant city-killer asteroids hiding near Venus poses an 'invisible threat' to life on Earth, astronomers have warned in a new study. These space rocks, known as co-orbital asteroids, tag along with Venus as it circles the Sun and likely originated from debris in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. There are around 20 such asteroids so far discovered around Venus, and each of them is likely larger than about 140 metres (460 ft) in size – large enough that they could potentially wipe out an area the size of a city if they impacted the Earth. All but one of the known asteroids tag along with Venus on very elongated trajectories, hinting there's likely an observational bias in how scientists have found them. Scientists suspect there could be many more such undiscovered asteroids around Venus with lower 'eccentricities' – or deviations from a perfect circle – that are obscured from our view due to the Sun's glare. 'This is most likely caused by observational biases since asteroids with larger eccentricities may approach the Earth and are easier to detect,' they wrote. These hidden asteroids may also change their trajectories relative to Venus, bringing them closer to the Earth. While they do not pose any immediate risk, a close approach to Earth could pull them onto a collision course with our planet and threaten life over the coming millennia, according to a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study. In the study, researchers conducted computer simulations to determine whether any potential hidden asteroid circling Venus and obscured from our view may threaten Earth in the future. Scientists made replica computer models of the already known co-orbital rocks around Venus, but with different orbits relative to Venus and observed how they behaved over 36,000 years. 'There is a range of orbits with eccentricities lower than 0.38 for which Venus' co-orbitals can pose a collisional hazard to Earth,' scientists wrote. However, it is hard to estimate exactly what risk they pose in colliding with Earth since the exact number of co-orbitals with Venus is unknown, they say. Researchers hope the Rubin Observatory may play a role in detecting some of these asteroids in the future 'during favourable configurations'. 'Space missions based on Venus' orbits may be instrumental in detecting Venus' co-orbitals at low eccentricities,' they concluded.
