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Hot Topic
Solar System
Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids
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Hayabusa's Harvest
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
11/21/10 |
| The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has confirmed that the Hayabusa spacecraft has successfully returned samples from the asteroid Itokawa. The samples will help astrobiologists understand the composition of asteroids and their potential role in the history and origin of life on Earth. |
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Comet Snow Storm
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
11/20/10 |
| NASA's EPOXI mission has provided the first images that link jets of dust and gas with specific surface features on a comet. The data will help astrobiologists understand the nature of comets - and possibly even planets. |
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Close Encounter with Comet Hartley 2
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
11/05/10 |
| NASA's EPOXI spacecraft flew by comet Hartley 2, and the images it captured show a peanut-shaped nucleus with many jets of gas spewing from its surface. Studying comets like Hartley 2 can help astrobiologists determine if comets played a role in the origin of life on Earth. |
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Asteroid Impact Could Destroy Ozone Layer
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
10/27/10 |
| A new study explains how an asteroid impact with the deep ocean could affect the Earth's climate and biosphere by causing a drastic depletion of the ozone layer. The study will help us understand the role of events originating from space in the future of life on our planet. |
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Hurtling toward Hartley 2
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
10/20/10 |
| Telescopes like Hubble and WISE are making observations of the comet Hartley 2 in preparation for its upcoming encounter with NASA's Deep Impact/EPOXI spacecraft. Studying comets like Hartley 2 can help astrobiologists determine if comets played a role in life's origins on Earth. |
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Comparing Comets and Asteroids
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
10/19/10 |
| Comets and asteroids may have more in common than scientists once thought. Not only do they sometimes behave the same way, but a new study finds that water ice and organic material are important components of both. |
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Asteroid Headed Our Way
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
09/29/10 |
| In mid-October, an asteroid will pass within four million miles of Earth. The object is 150 feet in diameter and was detected when it was 20 million miles away. The discovery is a step forward in our ability to monitor the sky for objects that could strike the Earth with enough force to damage the climate and biosphere of our planet. |
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Rosetta Should Look South for a Landing Site
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
09/26/10 |
| Scientists have determined that ESA's Rosetta mission needs to deliver its lander to a site in the southern hemisphere of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. A site in this region will be the safest and most scientifically interesting according to the recent study. |
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Asteroid Cornucopia
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
09/07/10 |
| New data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is helping astronomers better understand near-Earth objects. The study is of interest to astrobiology because asteroids could have played an important role in the origin and evolution of life on Earth. |
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Asteroids Live in Their Own Little Worlds
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
08/29/10 |
| A new study shows that asteroids are constantly changing "little worlds" that can give birth to smaller asteroids. Studying asteroids is important because asteroid impacts could have played an important role in the origin of life, and may still affect the future habitability of Earth. |
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