Latest news with #Earth-shattering
The Irish Sun
16-07-2025
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Dozens of BOULDERS now flying through space at high speed after Nasa test to shield Earth from asteroid smash goes wrong
THERE may be a flaw in Nasa's only defence against Earth-shattering asteroids, according to new analysis. In 2022 , the US space agency showed for the first time that Earth could indeed shield itself and mankind from "potentially hazardous" space rocks. 3 The spacecraft rammed into the middle of the more than 500ft asteroid at around 15,000 mph (24,000 km/h), around 7million miles away from Earth Credit: NASA 3 The mission was declared a success, as it altered Dimorphos' trajectory, but it also completely changed the shape of the asteroid Credit: NASA The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft intentionally collided with the asteroid Dimorphos, to knock it off its course. The spacecraft rammed into the middle of the more than 500ft asteroid at around 15,000 mph (24,000 km/h) , around 7million miles away from Earth. The mission was declared a success, as it altered Dimorphos ' trajectory, but it also completely changed the shape of the asteroid. But in doing so, chunks of debris were knocked loose from the asteroid by the impact. READ MORE ON SPACE Now, there are d ozens of large " boulders " traveling in space with even greater momentum than predicted, a new study, published in , has cautioned. The study raises doubts about the success of future asteroid-deflecting missions. Analysing images captured by the European Space Agency 's LICIACube satellite during DART, researchers were able track 104 boulders as they shot away from the asteroid. Each hunk of celestial debris measured between 0.7 and 11.8 feet (0.2 to 3.6 meters) across . Most read in Science They are moving with around three times more momentum than predicted, which is could be the result of "an additional kick" the boulders received as they were pushed away from the asteroid's surface, study lead author Tony Farnham , an astronomer at the University of Maryland, said in a . "That additional factor changes the physics we need to consider when planning these types of missions," he added. Terrifying video reveals what the impact of city-killer asteroid 2024YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 might look like The team also noted that the boulders were arranged into unusual patterns. "We saw that the boulders weren't scattered randomly in space," Farnham said. "Instead, they were clustered in two pretty distinct groups, with an absence of material elsewhere, which means that something unknown is at work here." To avoid any future asteroid doom, researchers must consider all the data - no matter how seemingly insignificant it seems. "If an asteroid was tumbling toward us, and we knew we had to move it a specific amount to prevent it from hitting Earth, then all these subtleties become very, very important," study co-author Jessica Sunshine , an astronomer at the University of Maryland, said in the statement. "You can think of it as a cosmic pool game. We might miss the pocket if we don't consider all the variables." This is not the first time scientists have noticed something unexpected about the fallout from the DART mission. In April 2024, researchers noted that some of the largest boulders might have been set on a collision course with Mars. The debris could smash into the Red Planet in around 6,000 years, which may endanger any future human colonies living there - if Elon Musk gets his way. Simulations based on LICIACube data also suggested that some of the smaller asteroid fragments could hit Earth in around 30 years. Although these pose no threat to our planet, and might instead trigger an epic meteor shower. However, despite all these uncertainties, smashing a spacecraft into an asteroid is still humanity's most viable option to protect ourselves from any real asteroid threat. 3 To avoid any future asteroid doom, researchers must consider all the data - no matter how seemingly insignificant it seems Credit: NASA
Scottish Sun
16-07-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Dozens of BOULDERS now flying through space at high speed after Nasa test to shield Earth from asteroid smash goes wrong
In April 2024, researchers noted that some of the largest boulders might have been set on a collision course with Mars ROCKY HORROR Dozens of BOULDERS now flying through space at high speed after Nasa test to shield Earth from asteroid smash goes wrong Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THERE may be a flaw in Nasa's only defence against Earth-shattering asteroids, according to new analysis. In 2022, the US space agency showed for the first time that Earth could indeed shield itself and mankind from "potentially hazardous" space rocks. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 The spacecraft rammed into the middle of the more than 500ft asteroid at around 15,000 mph (24,000 km/h), around 7million miles away from Earth Credit: NASA 3 The mission was declared a success, as it altered Dimorphos' trajectory, but it also completely changed the shape of the asteroid Credit: NASA The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft intentionally collided with the asteroid Dimorphos, to knock it off its course. The spacecraft rammed into the middle of the more than 500ft asteroid at around 15,000 mph (24,000 km/h), around 7million miles away from Earth. The mission was declared a success, as it altered Dimorphos' trajectory, but it also completely changed the shape of the asteroid. But in doing so, chunks of debris were knocked loose from the asteroid by the impact. Now, there are dozens of large "boulders" traveling in space with even greater momentum than predicted, a new study, published in The Planetary Science Journal, has cautioned. The study raises doubts about the success of future asteroid-deflecting missions. Analysing images captured by the European Space Agency's LICIACube satellite during DART, researchers were able track 104 boulders as they shot away from the asteroid. Each hunk of celestial debris measured between 0.7 and 11.8 feet (0.2 to 3.6 meters) across. They are moving with around three times more momentum than predicted, which is could be the result of "an additional kick" the boulders received as they were pushed away from the asteroid's surface, study lead author Tony Farnham, an astronomer at the University of Maryland, said in a statement. "That additional factor changes the physics we need to consider when planning these types of missions," he added. Terrifying video reveals what the impact of city-killer asteroid 2024YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 might look like The team also noted that the boulders were arranged into unusual patterns. "We saw that the boulders weren't scattered randomly in space," Farnham said. "Instead, they were clustered in two pretty distinct groups, with an absence of material elsewhere, which means that something unknown is at work here." To avoid any future asteroid doom, researchers must consider all the data - no matter how seemingly insignificant it seems. "If an asteroid was tumbling toward us, and we knew we had to move it a specific amount to prevent it from hitting Earth, then all these subtleties become very, very important," study co-author Jessica Sunshine, an astronomer at the University of Maryland, said in the statement. "You can think of it as a cosmic pool game. We might miss the pocket if we don't consider all the variables." This is not the first time scientists have noticed something unexpected about the fallout from the DART mission. In April 2024, researchers noted that some of the largest boulders might have been set on a collision course with Mars. The debris could smash into the Red Planet in around 6,000 years, which may endanger any future human colonies living there - if Elon Musk gets his way. Simulations based on LICIACube data also suggested that some of the smaller asteroid fragments could hit Earth in around 30 years. Although these pose no threat to our planet, and might instead trigger an epic meteor shower. However, despite all these uncertainties, smashing a spacecraft into an asteroid is still humanity's most viable option to protect ourselves from any real asteroid threat.
The Sun
16-07-2025
- Science
- The Sun
Dozens of BOULDERS now flying through space at high speed after Nasa test to shield Earth from asteroid smash goes wrong
THERE may be a flaw in Nasa's only defence against Earth-shattering asteroids, according to new analysis. In 2022, the US space agency showed for the first time that Earth could indeed shield itself and mankind from "potentially hazardous" space rocks. 3 The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft intentionally collided with the asteroid Dimorphos, to knock it off its course. The spacecraft rammed into the middle of the more than 500ft asteroid at around 15,000 mph (24,000 km/h), around 7million miles away from Earth. The mission was declared a success, as it altered Dimorphos' trajectory, but it also completely changed the shape of the asteroid. But in doing so, chunks of debris were knocked loose from the asteroid by the impact. Now, there are dozens of large "boulders" traveling in space with even greater momentum than predicted, a new study, published in The Planetary Science Journal, has cautioned. The study raises doubts about the success of future asteroid-deflecting missions. Analysing images captured by the European Space Agency's LICIACube satellite during DART, researchers were able track 104 boulders as they shot away from the asteroid. Each hunk of celestial debris measured between 0.7 and 11.8 feet (0.2 to 3.6 meters) across. They are moving with around three times more momentum than predicted, which is could be the result of "an additional kick" the boulders received as they were pushed away from the asteroid's surface, study lead author Tony Farnham, an astronomer at the University of Maryland, said in a statement. "That additional factor changes the physics we need to consider when planning these types of missions," he added. Terrifying video reveals what the impact of city-killer asteroid 2024YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 might look like The team also noted that the boulders were arranged into unusual patterns. "We saw that the boulders weren't scattered randomly in space," Farnham said. "Instead, they were clustered in two pretty distinct groups, with an absence of material elsewhere, which means that something unknown is at work here." To avoid any future asteroid doom, researchers must consider all the data - no matter how seemingly insignificant it seems. "If an asteroid was tumbling toward us, and we knew we had to move it a specific amount to prevent it from hitting Earth, then all these subtleties become very, very important," study co-author Jessica Sunshine, an astronomer at the University of Maryland, said in the statement. "You can think of it as a cosmic pool game. We might miss the pocket if we don't consider all the variables." This is not the first time scientists have noticed something unexpected about the fallout from the DART mission. In April 2024, researchers noted that some of the largest boulders might have been set on a collision course with Mars. The debris could smash into the Red Planet in around 6,000 years, which may endanger any future human colonies living there - if Elon Musk gets his way. Simulations based on LICIACube data also suggested that some of the smaller asteroid fragments could hit Earth in around 30 years. Although these pose no threat to our planet, and might instead trigger an epic meteor shower. However, despite all these uncertainties, smashing a spacecraft into an asteroid is still humanity's most viable option to protect ourselves from any real asteroid threat. 3
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists find strongest-ever evidence of alien life on distant planet
Scientists have detected what they believe to be a potential sign of life on a planet in a different solar system in the 'strongest indicator' that life exists beyond Earth. Researchers analyzing K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 lightyears from Earth, have found a molecule that on Earth is associated with living organisms in the planet's atmosphere. The potentially Earth-shattering study was published Wednesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. "This is the strongest evidence yet there is possibly life out there. I can realistically say that we can confirm this signal within one to two years,' astronomer Nikku Madhusudhan, a professor at the University of Cambridge and the lead author of the new study, told the BBC. The findings could even suggest that K2-18b is covered with an ocean, home to living organisms. His team observed large amounts of chemicals that, when found on Earth, are produced by marine phytoplankton and bacteria; the quantity of these molecules found in K2-18b's atmosphere is thousands of times higher than what's on Earth, he said. "So, if the association with life is real, then this planet will be teeming with life," he told the BBC. "If we confirm that there is life on K2-18b it should basically confirm that life is very common in the galaxy.' 'It is in no one's interest to claim prematurely that we have detected life,' Madhusudhan told the New York Times. Mans Holmberg, a co-author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the Space Telescope Science Institute, told The Washington Post that the observations suggest the planet could boast a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and an ocean deeper than any on Earth. 'Everything about this system is quite alien. We don't have anything like it in the solar system,' he said. Other experts in the field remarked on the potential magnitude of the revelation, but urged caution before drawing any sweeping conclusions. 'It's not nothing,' Stephen Schmidt, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University, told the Times. 'It's a hint. But we cannot conclude it's habitable yet.' "I think this is one of those situations where extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," Laura Kreidberg, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany, told NPR. "I'm not sure we're at the extraordinary evidence level yet." There's an ongoing debate about the presence of the molecules on the planet as well as what they could mean, and if they are in fact there. For example, the chemicals could relate to a process unrelated to living organisms on K2-18b. The research team agreed. 'Either we are looking at a new chemical process that we haven't seen before … or we're witnessing the first signs of biological activity outside of Earth,' Holmberg said.
The Independent
17-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Scientists find strongest-ever evidence of alien life on distant planet
Scientists have detected what they believe to be a potential sign of life on a planet in a different solar system in the 'strongest indicator' that life exists beyond Earth. Researchers analyzing K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 lightyears from Earth, have found a molecule that on Earth is associated with living organisms in the planet's atmosphere. The potentially Earth-shattering study was published Wednesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. "This is the strongest evidence yet there is possibly life out there. I can realistically say that we can confirm this signal within one to two years,' astronomer Nikku Madhusudhan, a professor at the University of Cambridge and the lead author of the new study, told the BBC. The findings could even suggest that K2-18b is covered with an ocean, home to living organisms. His team observed large amounts of chemicals that, when found on Earth, are produced by marine phytoplankton and bacteria; the quantity of these molecules found in K2-18b's atmosphere is thousands of times higher than what's on Earth, he said. "So, if the association with life is real, then this planet will be teeming with life," he told the BBC. "If we confirm that there is life on K2-18b it should basically confirm that life is very common in the galaxy.' 'It is in no one's interest to claim prematurely that we have detected life,' Madhusudhan told the New York Times. Mans Holmberg, a co-author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the Space Telescope Science Institute, told The Washington Post that the observations suggest the planet could boast a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and an ocean deeper than any on Earth. 'Everything about this system is quite alien. We don't have anything like it in the solar system,' he said. Other experts in the field remarked on the potential magnitude of the revelation, but urged caution before drawing any sweeping conclusions. 'It's not nothing,' Stephen Schmidt, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University, told the Times. 'It's a hint. But we cannot conclude it's habitable yet.' "I think this is one of those situations where extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," Laura Kreidberg, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany, told NPR. "I'm not sure we're at the extraordinary evidence level yet." There's an ongoing debate about the presence of the molecules on the planet as well as what they could mean, and if they are in fact there. For example, the chemicals could relate to a process unrelated to living organisms on K2-18b. The research team agreed. 'Either we are looking at a new chemical process that we haven't seen before … or we're witnessing the first signs of biological activity outside of Earth,' Holmberg said.
