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 Artemis 1 moon rocket — carried atop the crawler-transporter 2 vehicle — as it approaches Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA will roll SLS and Orion back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy next week to prepare the rocket and spacecraft for launch.

The top space stories of the week!

By Elizabeth Howell published

Artemis 1 rehearsal declared a success, the International Space Station dodges Russian space debris, and NASA's InSight lander favors science over energy at its mission end.

a spacecraft at an asteroid

NASA's metal asteroid mission Psyche won't launch before mid-2023 (and could face cancellation)

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's Psyche asteroid mission is facing an uncertain future after software testing issues forced an extended launch delay expected to last at least until July 2023.

The LightSail 2 solar-sailing spacecraft sent a selfie home as it completes its third year in orbit.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff published

The solar-sailing spacecraft LightSail 2 has sent a selfie home as it completes its third year in orbit around Earth.

Two pixelated images with a faintly visible object circled at the center

South Korea cancels Apophis asteroid probe: report

By Elizabeth Howell published

South Korea has canceled its effort to visit the space rock Apophis during a close, but harmless, flyby of our Earth in 2029, according to a media report.

an illustration of a metal-rich asteroid

Scientists map weird metal asteroid that NASA spacecraft will launch to this year

By Andrew Jones published

Planetary scientists have created a new, detailed map of the asteroid Psyche, providing a tantalizing preview of the target for a NASA mission set to launch later this year.

A bright star against a black background

NASA's DART asteroid-impact probe spots the bright star Vega

By Elizabeth Howell published

In a bid to figure out light scattering, NASA's asteroid-smashing mission did a bit of star-spotting while cruising to its destination.

Lucy's eight target asteroids

NASA's Lucy mission adds 9th asteroid to its list of attractions

By Rahul Rao published

NASA's Lucy mission has gained a new destination: a tiny asteroid that's orbiting one of its original target asteroids.

A diagram shows the orbit of 'Ayló'chaxnim.

Newly spotted asteroid near Venus earns name from Pauma band of Native Americans

By Stefanie Waldek published

Scientists at the Palomar Observatory turned to the Pauma band, upon whose ancestral lands the facility sits, to name the asteroid, now dubbed 'Ayló'chaxnim, or 'Venus girl.'

Asteroid Phaethon is one of the bluest objects in the solar system.

How the bluest asteroid in the solar system got its color

By Tereza Pultarova published

Scientists have an explanation for asteroid Phaethon's trademark color.

NASA’s Lucy mission will be the first to visit the Trojan asteroids.

NASA's Lucy asteroid spacecraft solar array rescue efforts continuing

By Andrew Jones published

NASA's Lucy mission team is continuing efforts to correct the incomplete deployment of one of the spacecraft's solar arrays as it continues to Jupiter's Trojan asteroids.

An artist's depiction of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft at the asteroid Ryugu.

Asteroid Ryugu contains material older than the planets, among the most primitive ever studied on Earth

By Keith Cooper published

Analysis of Hayabusa2's samples from the asteroid Ryugu shows they date to before the formation of the planets.

Artist's illustration of the metallic asteroid Psyche.

NASA's Psyche mission delay means change of targets for secondary asteroid probes

By Andrew Jones published

Psyche's liftoff has been pushed from Aug. 1 to no earlier than Sept. 20.

An asteroid flying past Earth.

Asteroid the size of 3 blue whales zooms past Earth safely

By Tereza Pultarova published

An asteroid the size of three blue whales just zoomed past Earth. But don't worry, Earthlings were not at risk.

An artist's impression of a potentially hazardous asteroid passing close to Earth.

Infamous asteroid Apophis 'rediscovered' as scientists test asteroid defense mechanisms

By Keith Cooper published

A test of whether asteroid surveys could spot a potentially hazardous asteroid successfully rediscovered Apophis and ruled out the possibility of it striking Earth for the next 100 years.

An animation showing the location of the near-Earth asteroids discovered as of January 2018; Earth's orbit is marked by the white line.

Over 100 hidden asteroids detected thanks to new algorithm studying old telescope data

By Samantha Mathewson published

Researchers using an innovative astrodynamics algorithm have uncovered over 100 asteroids that had gone undetected in archived images of the sky.

An artist's depiction of an asteroid flying past Earth.

Blue-whale-size asteroid to screech past Earth in close encounter on June 6

By Brandon Specktor published

An asteroid up to three times the size of a blue whale will sail past Earth on June 6, 2022.

Earth rising over the lunar surface.

Humans have big plans for mining in space — but there are many things holding us back

By Michael Dello-Iacovo, Serkan Saydam published

Setting up any kind of off-Earth mining industry will be no small feat. Let's look at what we're up against.

A time-lapse image of asteroid 7335 (1989 JA) passing by Earth on May 27, 2022.

Mile-wide asteroid 7335 (1989 JA), the largest yet of 2022, flies safely by Earth

By Elizabeth Howell published

There were no worries whatsoever about the space rock, which passed by at a very safe distance.

Asteroid flybys are common, and we usually can see them coming.

You can watch a huge, mile-wide asteroid fly safely by Earth today

By Elizabeth Howell published

A huge asteroid more than a mile wide will zoom safely by Earth today and you can watch it live today in a free online webcast.

NASA's Psyche spacecraft is seen in early 2022 on its way to the vacuum chamber at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

NASA's metal asteroid mission's launch delayed 7 weeks by software glitch

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's Psyche asteroid probe will wait several more weeks for launch.