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Asteroids

Asteroids are space rocks thought to be the remains left over from the formation of the solar system. They range in size from tiny (the size of a car or so) to truly giant, with at least one - Ceres - gaining dwarf planet status. In our solar system, billions of asteroids are in the asteroid belt, a region around the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Others stray from this region, and can potentially post an impact threat to the Earth. At least one interstellar asteroid, called 'Oumuamua, has passed through our solar system. Learn more about asteroids here.

Related Topics: Comets, Meteors, Shooting Stars and Fireballs, Rosetta Spacecraft 

Latest Updates

NASA's OSIRIS-REx captured this image of the asteroid Bennu from just 0.4 miles (680 meters) above the surface on June 13, 2019.

This Is NASA's Best View Yet (and Closest, Too!) of Asteroid Bennu

By Meghan Bartels

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft inched closer still to an asteroid called Bennu, breaking the record it set previously — but the real reward is the stunning photographs the probe has captured since.

Outside the International Space Station, the Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer ejects three small cubesats into low Earth orbit for the BIRDS-3 mission, which is part of a program to help countries build their first satellites. This batch of cubesats includes Nepal's first satellite, NepaliSat-1, and Sri Lanka's first satellite, Raavana-1. The third is a Japanese cubesat called Uguisu. All three arrived at the space station in April on board a Cygnus cargo spacecraft, and the Expedition 59 crew released them into space on Monday (June 17).

Pictures from Space! Our Image of the Day

By Hanneke Weitering

Outside the International Space Station, the Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer ejects three small cubesats into low Earth orbit for the BIRDS-3 mission.

An illustration shows the probe approaching Psyche.

NASA's Getting Ready to Explore the Corpse of an Ancient Planet in the Asteroid Belt

By Rafi Letzter

A NASA mission to an ancient iron-nickel hunk has entered its final design phase, a key milestone on the way to reaching the distant destination in the mid-2020s.

A wide-angle view of Bennu's south pole captured by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on March 14, 2019.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx Probe Breaks Its Close-Orbit Record at Asteroid Bennu

By Mike Wall

NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid-sampling probe has shattered the close-orbit record it set less than six months ago.

New work suggests that dwarf planet Ceres' biggest mountain, Ahuna Mons, may have formed after a muddy slurry erupted. This image shows a side view of Ahuna Mons, which is 2.5 miles tall and 10.5 miles wide (4 by 17 kilometers). Ahuna Mons has a dome shape that resembles that of mountains created on Earth by volcanism. However, unlike volcanoes on Earth, Ahuna Mons was created by a volcano spewing cold, molten ice rather than hot, liquid rock.

A Weird Mud Plume May Have Built the Highest Peak on Dwarf Planet Ceres

By Charles Q. Choi

An artist's depiction of Vesta experiencing a hit-and-run collision.

Rare Meteorites on Earth Forged in Massive Crash on Asteroid Vesta

By Charles Q. Choi

Mysterious rare meteorites made of a mix of stone and iron likely formed when Vesta, the brightest asteroid in the sky, experienced a giant impact, a new study finds.

An artist's illustration of an asteroid headed toward Earth.

This Asteroid Has a 1-in-7,000 Chance of Hitting Earth This Fall

By Laura Geggel

This fall, Earth has about a 1-in-7,000 chance of getting an uninvited extraterrestrial visitor: asteroid 2006 QV89.

A side-by-side comparison of the new photo of the asteroid 1999 KW4, captured by ESO's Very Large Telescope, and an artist's impression of the asteroid.

Telescope Spots Double-Asteroid System During Close Flyby of Earth

By Passant Rabie

A recent close encounter with a large asteroid and its little moon was captured by a telescope as the pair zipped past Earth at 43,500 mph (70,000 kilometers per hour) on May 25.

Chile's Atacama Desert is the driest, oldest desert on Earth. It's also home to one of the planet's most ancient collection of meteorites.

Earth's Oldest Meteorite Collection Just Found in the Driest Place on the Planet

By Brandon Specktor

Researchers scouring the desert for space rocks found the oldest collection of meteorites on Earth.

An animation shows what the orbit of a moon around asteroid 1999 KW4 looks like.

An Asteroid with Its Own Moon Will Zip Past Earth Tonight

By Rafi Letzter

Asteroid 1999 KW4 has its own moon!

asteroid mining

Space Mining Could Ruin Our Solar System If We Don't Establish Protected Places Now, Researchers Warn

By Brandon Specktor

If humans mine one-eighth of the solar system's extraterrestrial resources, we could be doomed.

An artist's depiction of the DART spacecraft at the binary asteroid Didymos.

This NASA Spacecraft Will Crash into an Asteroid to Test Earth's Defenses Against Space Rocks

By Meghan Bartels

NASA's first planetary defense mission is preparing to launch in June 2021, making sure all the pieces are in place for the spacecraft to successfully slam into the small "moon" of a binary asteroid.

Artist’s impression of a 6-mile-wide asteroid— the size of the dinosaur-killing object — striking the Earth.

How Earth Life Could Come Back from a Sterilizing Asteroid Impact

By Mike Wall

Supervillains take note: Even the biggest and baddest asteroids may not be 100% effective as a doomsday devices.

Fourteen Arecibo radar images of the near-Earth asteroid 65803 Didymos and its moonlet, taken on Nov. 23, 24 and 26, 2003.

NASA Will Aim a DART at Target Asteroid in Upcoming Deflection Test

By Doris Elin Salazar

Telescopes and spacecraft are already watching the skies for potentially hazardous asteroids, but what could be done to actually deflect a dangerous object heading toward Earth?

An artist's depiction of an asteroid.

Even If We Can Stop a Dangerous Asteroid, Being Human May Mean We Don't Succeed

By Meghan Bartels

To err is human, and that saying doesn't magically become moot just because the stakes are high.

An asteroid impact on New York City would be devastating, according to a new simulation.

New York City Has Been Obliterated in a New Asteroid-Impact Simulation

By Brandon Specktor

New York City, home to 8.6 million people and one hot duck, has perished in an apocalyptic meteor strike … in a simulation.

This image of the asteroid Ryugu was taken by Japan's Hayabusa2 probe on June 26, 2018, just one day before the spacecraft's arrival at the big rock.

Boulders on Diamond-Shaped Asteroids Hint at Dusty Landslides

By Doris Elin Salazar

Scientists looked at the boulders found on two diamond-shaped asteroids to glean information about the way asteroids morphed over time.

This image shows the orbits of more than 14,000 known asteroids, with the yellow denoting asteroids that have been seen by Gaia. The three asteroids that the spacecraft recently discovered are highlighted in gray.

The Gaia Spacecraft Was Studying Stars, But It Found Something Else — 3 Asteroids

By Elizabeth Howell

The Gaia spacecraft just did a bit of bonus science.

Scientists, engineers, policymakers and emergency managers spent the week pretending they had detected an asteroid on track to hit Earth.

A Fake Asteroid Headed to Earth Can Really Make You Think

By Meghan Bartels

Satellite imagery of Denver.

This Scientist Is Creating Fictional Asteroids to Save Humanity from Armageddon

By Meghan Bartels

It's a nightmare (fictional) scenario to imagine: a large asteroid headed directly for a major American city less than eight years after astronomers spotted the space rock.