as a regular, short‑period visitor. With an estimated diameter of 10 kilometres, 10P/Tempel 2 is comparable in size to the asteroid believed to have ended the reign of the dinosaurs. Its orbit, however, remains safely bounded between the orbits of Mars...

in their pristine state. Researchers are especially interested in sites that retain ancient solar‑system deposits, such as asteroid‑derived material that may house organic compounds offering clues about pre‑biotic chemistry. “We know we have organic...

never been spotted floating in space. Earlier discoveries of ribose and glucose in meteorite fragments and samples from asteroid Bennu hinted at sugar‑like chemistry, but a direct detection in the void remained elusive. This breakthrough fills that gap...

planetary systems. Previous detections of biologically relevant sugars have come from meteorites and samples returned from asteroid Bennu, but those environments differ from the interstellar medium. The identification of erythrulose marks the first time...

becomes increasingly critical. Astronauts and robotic explorers will encounter terrains forged by ancient eruptions, asteroid impacts, and long‑term geological change. Linking Hawaiian analogues with lunar datasets equips researchers with refined tools...

ice, causing localized heating that triggers evaporation and mass loss. This diagram shows the orbit of the interstellar asteroid ‘Oumuamua as it passes through the solar system. (CREDIT: K. Meech et al/ESO) The Erosion of Frozen Travelers By modeling...

JWST observations reveal shifting rings around the asteroid Chariklo, offering groundbreaking new insights into the evolution of our distant solar system. New data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has unveiled a surprising level of...

Nishiyama and his team discovered that significant portions of this tectonic record are buried under debris from ancient asteroid impacts. By comparing a global map of surface roughness with the distribution of known tectonic structures, the researchers...

described as “cold traps”—have preserved water ice for nearly 4 billion years. These deposits, likely delivered by ancient asteroid impacts, were intended to be the lifeblood of future missions, providing essential resources for drinking, oxygen...

contractional features. This suggests that the geological record has been obscured by thick blankets of ejecta produced by asteroid impacts, or potentially by porous regolith that absorbs crustal stress without forming recognizable faults. Global maps...

its high iron content, while the “5” indicates that the rock underwent significant thermal metamorphism on its parent asteroid before entering our orbit. Geological analysis suggests the meteorite dates back approximately 4.6 billion years, effectively...

“I just stopped, dropped everything, and started looking into what that spot was,” Wagner noted. The impactor, likely an asteroid or cometary fragment roughly the size of a multi-story building, released an estimated 6.5 × 10^10 kilojoules of energy...

validation of panspermia, the theory that life or its chemical foundations could be transferred between planets via asteroid impacts. During the solar system’s early, volatile years, Earth and Mars were subjected to intense bombardment, creating a...

is relatively big in size,” says Burdge. “So matter just pummels directly onto the surface, at very high speeds, like an asteroid hitting the moon.” This direct bombardment creates a localized hot spot on the surface of the star. As the system rotates,...

subject of intense scientific debate. Spanning roughly 22 kilometers, it remains a mystery whether the moon is a captured asteroid or the result of a monumental collision between an ancient, larger body and Mars itself. MMX represents the best...