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.

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City lights of Malaysia and Indonesia light up the Earth beneath a blanket of blue and orange airglow while boat lights glow in the Bay of Bengal in this nighttime view of Earth from space. An Expedition 62 astronaut captured this photo from the International Space Station on March 21, when the space station was orbiting 262 miles (422 kilometers) overhead.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff

City lights of Malaysia and Indonesia light up the Earth beneath a blanket of blue and orange airglow while boat lights glow in the Bay of Bengal in this nighttime view of Earth from space.

An artist's depiction of how OSIRIS-REx will use Natural Feature Tracking to compare real-time images of the asteroid's surface to a bank of previous photos in order to steer itself to the sampling site.

NASA asteroid probe will dodge building-size boulders to snatch sample of Bennu

By Meghan Bartels

Snatching a piece of asteroid Bennu was supposed to be — well, not easy, but certainly manageable: scope out the space rock, find some flat spots, swoop down at one, come back home.

This animation by Gianluca Masi at the Virtual Telescope Project shows the movement of the potentially hazardous asteroid 1998 OR2 in the night sky on March 16, 2020, between 4:31 p.m. EDT and 5 p.m. EDT (2031-2100 GMT).

Giant 'potentially hazardous' asteroid will fly safely by Earth in April

By Hanneke Weitering

A large and "potentially hazardous" asteroid is poised to fly by Earth next month, but don't worry — it poses no threat to Earth.

Ejecta curtain growth and deposition on the asteroid Ryugu after Japan's Hayabusa2 probe slammed an impactor into the space rock in April 2019.

Japan's asteroid-smashing probe reveals a surprisingly young space rock

By Charles Q. Choi

A cannonball that a Japanese spacecraft fired at an asteroid is shedding light on the most common type of asteroid in the solar system, a new study reports.

An image of asteroid Ryugu from Japan's Hayabusa2 mission.

Rocky asteroid Ryugu got its rubble from a porous parent, study finds

By Charles Q. Choi

The rocky object that spawned the asteroid Ryugu may have been extraordinarily porous, a new study finds.

A small asteroid has been orbiting Earth for 3 years, astronomers say. Meet our newest minimoon.

Possible new 'minimoon' discovered orbiting Earth

By Brandon Specktor

Astronomers discovered a 'minimoon' that's been orbiting Earth for about three years, and may soon leave our planet's orbit.

An illustration shows a rocket approaching an asteroid that's drifted too close to Earth. A scout probe orbits nearby.

What should we do if a 'planet-killer' asteroid takes aim at Earth?

By Rafi Letzter

If a giant object looks like it's going to slam into Earth, humanity has a few options. A new guide could help NASA decide which one is best.

An artist's depiction of satellites orbiting Earth.

Satellite crashes, asteroid impacts and space weather pose big risks, US lawmakers say

By Elizabeth Howell

One of the most pressing problems when it comes to keeping our planet safe from space threats is data, which sounds so simple to address. It's not.

Radar images show the binary asteroid 2020 BX12, which scientists discovered this year.

Scientists just watched a newfound asteroid zoom by Earth. Then they saw its moon.

By Meghan Bartels

An image of the asteroid Pallas captured by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope.

Massive asteroid Pallas has a violent, cratered past, study reveals

By Charles Q. Choi

This big asteroid is seriously cratered.

An artist's depiction of the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

After an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, volcanic eruption may have helped life flourish on Earth

By Chelsea Gohd

This image, taken Jan. 8, shows the newfound asteroid 2020 AV2, which orbits the sun closer than Venus does.

This newly discovered asteroid is the second-closest natural object to the sun

By Laura Geggel

Excluding Mercury, this newly discovered asteroid has the smallest known aphelion distance in our entire solar system.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule on Jan. 1, 2019 as shown in this artist's illustration. It's the furthest planetary flyby in history.

Asteroids, Comets, Black Holes — Oh My! The Year 2019 in Astronomy

By Nola Taylor Redd

A black hole was photographed, the farthest flyby was completed, and a beloved rover was proclaimed dead. Follow us through the highs and lows of 2019 space science.