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

Rocket Lab teams have recovered the first state of the company's Electron rocket from the Pacific Ocean to refurbish it for another use.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff published

Teams of the New Zealand-based company Rocket Lab successfully recovered the first stage of the Electron rocket after its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

An artist's depiction of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collecting a sample from asteroid Bennu.

NASA prepping for September arrival of OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample

By Josh Dinner published

As OSIRIS-REx flies its return trajectory through space, teams on Earth are preparing for the sample's Sept. 24 landing in the Utah desert.

A preview of the dwarf planet Ceres "meeting" spiral galaxy Messier 100 in the night sky

How to watch Ceres, a dwarf planet 14 times smaller than Pluto, photobomb a spiral galaxy this weekend

By Jamie Carter published

Watch live online as the dwarf planet Ceres swoops in front of the 'grand design' spiral galaxy Messier 100 this weekend.

Adam Driver asks NASA all about asteroids and their impact threat to Earth in a new video.

'65' star Adam Driver asks NASA about the asteroid threat to Earth (video)

By Robert Lea published

Adam Driver, star of the new movie "65," quizzed NASA about the dangers of asteroids and the success of the DART mission.

The Virtual Telescope Project will livestream views of the asteroid 2023 DZ2 on March 25, 2023, beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT).

Watch skyscraper-sized asteroid zoom near Earth tonight (March 25) in free livestream

By Mike Wall published

The near-Earth asteroid 2023 DZ2 will pass within 107,500 miles (173,000 kilometers) of Earth today (March 25), and you can watch the flyby live online.

An artist's depiction of an asteroid hitting Earth.

Space dust could carry alien life across the galaxy, study suggests

By Josh Dinner published

Astrobiologists should examine space dust and other exoplanetary debris to search for the existence of life beyond Earth, a new study suggests.

The newfound asteroid 2023 DZ2 is seen during its close approach to Earth on March 25, 2023 in a NASA animation.

Skyscraper-size asteroid will get closer to Earth than the moon on March 25

By Stephanie Pappas published

Asteroid 2023 DZ2 will zip between Earth and the moon's orbit on March 25 and may be visible with the right telescope.

Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona, was blasted out by a roughly 165-foot-wide (50 meters) impactor about 50,000 years ago.

Big asteroids hit Earth more frequently than thought, study suggests

By Elizabeth Howell published

But the new result is controversial.

This high-resolution view of the asteroid Dimorphos was created by combining the final 10 full-frame images obtained by the NASA DART probe's Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) and layering the higher-resolution images on top of the lower-resolution ones. Dimorphos is oriented so that its north pole is toward the top of the image.

DART mission reveals asteroid Dimorphos is dry as a bone

By Keith Cooper published

Careful scrutiny of the debris from the impact of NASA's DART mission into Dimorphos has not found any evidence for water ice on the asteroid, nor the residue of thruster fuel from the spacecraft.

dark rocks in a white container

Building block of life found in sample from asteroid Ryugu

By Keith Cooper published

An organic compound that's part of the RNA molecules that transmit genetic information in cells has been discovered in samples from the asteroid Ryugu, suggesting the stuff of life came from space.

Ceres will be at opposition on March 21, 2023, though you'll still need a telescope to see the dwarf planet.

Spot dwarf planet Ceres during the new moon tonight

By Robert Lea published

The dark skies of the new moon will offer skywatchers the chance to spot Ceres tonight (March 21), as the dwarf planet reaches opposition.

The U.S. Postal Service's "OSIRIS-REx Return to Earth" postage stamp celebrates the seven-year NASA mission to bring back rock and soil from the surface of the asteroid Bennu.

NASA asteroid sample return mission to land on U.S. postage stamp

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

The USPS dropped news of a surprise space stamp, revealing it plans to mark the upcoming plunge to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx capsule carrying the largest sample ever collected from an asteroid.

an illustration of an asteroid in space

Watch a small asteroid fly by Earth closer than the moon tonight in this free livestream

By Brett Tingley published

The near-Earth asteroid 2023 EY will pass within 149,000 miles (239,800 kilometers) of Earth tonight (March 16), and you can watch it live thanks to a free telescope livestream.

an illustration of an asteroid in space

Asteroid feared to hit Earth in 2046 will almost certainly miss, NASA says

By Ben Turner published

An asteroid that was initially given 1-in-600 chance of wiping out an entire city on Valentine's Day 2046 is now expected to almost definitely whizz past us without incident.

This high-resolution view of the asteroid Dimorphos was created by combining the final 10 full-frame images obtained by the NASA DART probe's Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) and layering the higher-resolution images on top of the lower-resolution ones. Dimorphos is oriented so that its north pole is toward the top of the image.

Scientists hail DART success 6 months after historic asteroid crash

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

Scientists shared the latest results from the DART mission this week, six months after its impact into the asteroid Dimorphos.

Japanese astronomer Daichi Fujii captured this shot of a meteorite impacting the moon (bright flash at bottom left) on Feb. 23, 2023.

Boom! Japanese astronomer catches meteorite smashing into the moon (video)

By Andrew Jones published

Japanese astronomer Daichi Fujii captured the telltale flash of a meteorite impacting the moon, causing a brief flash on our celestial neighbor's nightside.

The newly discovered asteroid 2023 DW flies close by Earth on Feb. 14, 2046.

Newly discovered asteroid the size of a swimming pool has a 1-in-600 chance of colliding with Earth, NASA says

By Brandon Specktor published

The newly discovered asteroid 2023 DW could collide with Earth in February 2046, although the odds of an impact are low.

a colorful cloud of gas in space

Asteroids may have picked up building blocks of life from interstellar clouds

By Keith Cooper published

Scientists have taken a big step towards figuring out where building blocks of life such as amino acids and amines form in space.

telescopic image of blue dust rising from an asteroid

Slam! Hubble sees strange changes in asteroid dust after DART collision (video)

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission slammed into a small space rock last year, and the effects were visible from Earth orbit.

DART's view of Dimorphos less than two minutes before impact on Sept. 26, 2022.

DART's epic asteroid crash: What NASA has learned 5 months later

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

Astronomers studying data from NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission have found out a great deal about its target space rock, and about planetary defense in general.