How do scientists calculate the probability that an asteroid could hit Earth?

Keeping Earth safe from asteroids isn’t just spotting them – it’s also helping people understand what a high-impact probability with Earth means.

Toshi Hirabayashi, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology • conversation
June 25, 2025 • ~6 min

A new observatory is assembling the most complete time-lapse record of the night sky ever

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will capture enough detail to see a golf ball from 25km away.

Noelia Noël, Senior Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Surrey • conversation
June 5, 2025 • ~6 min

Ancient pollen reveals stories about Earth’s history, from the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs to the Mayan collapse

Palynologists who study tiny pollen fossils share 4 stories found in grains that fell hundreds to millions of years ago.

Linus Victor Anyanna, Graduate Research Assistant in Geology, Missouri University of Science and Technology • conversation
May 20, 2025 • ~10 min

Why collect asteroid samples? 4 essential reads on what these tiny bits of space rock can tell scientists

Missions that return asteroid samples bring home more than just very expensive dust. These samples can provide valuable insights for scientists and commercial interests.

Mary Magnuson, Associate Science Editor • conversation
May 13, 2025 • ~8 min

How was the Earth built?

The Earth started as a mixture of gas and dust around the Sun and grew as it collided with asteroids and dust particles.

Alexander E. Gates, Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, Rutgers University - Newark • conversation
May 5, 2025 • ~6 min

Mysterious objects from other stars are passing through our solar system. Scientists are planning missions to study them up close

Learning about these interstellar objects could give us insights into other star systems.

Theodora Ogden, Senior Analyst, Defence and Security Team, RAND Europe • conversation
April 15, 2025 • ~9 min

Why the meteorites that hit Earth have less water than the asteroid bits brought back by space probes – a planetary scientist explains new research

Water-rich meteorites contain key ingredients for life, yet they barely appear in meteorite collections. Recent research using shooting stars may explain why.

Patrick M. Shober, Postdoctoral Fellow in Planetary Sciences, NASA • conversation
April 14, 2025 • ~8 min

Asteroid has a very small chance of hitting Earth in 2032, but a collision could devastate a city

The chances of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth are small but fluctuating.

Maggie Lieu, Research Fellow, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham • conversation
Feb. 24, 2025 • ~8 min

2 populations of dark comets in the solar system could tell researchers where the Earth got its oceans

Comets without tails, called dark comets, are a newly discovered space object. Now, astronomers know they come in 2 classes.

Darryl Z. Seligman, Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University • conversation
Dec. 20, 2024 • ~8 min

NEOWISE, the NASA mission that cataloged objects around Earth for over a decade, has come to an end

Once the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer couldn’t survey widely anymore, NASA scientists switched gears and began using the spacecraft for planetary defense.

Yaeji Kim, Postdoctoral Associate in Astronomy, University of Maryland • conversation
Dec. 3, 2024 • ~9 min

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