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Hot Topic
Solar System
Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids
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The Deadly Sting of a Comet Tail
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
04/02/10 |
| According to a new study, thousands of Tunguska-sized comet fragments may have struck the Earth 13,000 years ago, causing dramatic cooling in just one hour. The study points out how extraterrestrial events can cause catastrophic changes in the Earth's climate and biosphere. |
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Interrogating the Asteroid
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/16/10 |
| Researchers have proposed a new sample-return mission to visit the asteroid 1999 RQ36. Such a mission could help us learn how to move an asteroid that's set on a collision course with Earth. |
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It Had To Be an Asteroid
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/07/10 |
| According to a comprehensive review of all the available evidence, the extinction of the dinosaurs and half the species on Earth was caused by an asteroid colliding with our planet. A panel of 41 international experts reviewed 20 years' worth of data to determine the cause of the KT extinction. |
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Toxic Shock
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/03/10 |
| Asteroid impacts may not only account for extinctions in the oceans and on land 65 million years ago. According to new research, the resulting dust, darkness and toxic metal contamination following impact may also be responsible for the unevenness of extinctions and recovery following the impact event. |
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Shooting Meteorites in a Barrel
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
02/25/10 |
| High-impact lab experiments simulate whether the building blocks of life could have survived the rough arrival on Earth via meteorite impact. |
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Stardust Burns For Comet
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
02/20/10 |
| NASA's Stardust spacecraft was the first to collect samples from a comet and return them to Earth. Now, the spacecraft is preparing for another cometary visit. The craft is now scheduled to perform a flyby of the comet Tempel 1 in 2011. |
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X Marks the Spot
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
02/03/10 |
| NASA´s Hubble Space Telescope has observed a mysterious X-shaped debris pattern and trailing streamers of dust that suggest a head-on collision between two asteroids. The never-before-seen event is providing scientists with insight into the types of cosmic collisions that helped form the asteroid belt. |
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Counting and Countering NEOs
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
01/23/10 |
| A new report from the National Research Council lays out options NASA could follow to detect more near-Earth objects. In the past, asteroid and comet impacts have had profound effects on the evolution of life. Many scientists speculate that impacts could also alter the future of life as we know it. |
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Astrobiology Top 10: Glycine in the Grid
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
12/26/09 |
| AM is highlighting the top 10 astrobiology stories of 2009. At number 8 is a report that the amino acid glycine was found in samples from a comet. This supports the theory that some of the ingredients for life were delivered to the Earth by comet and meteorite impacts. (This story originally was published on August 19, 2009). |
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Incoming Comets
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
12/20/09 |
| A new method of detecting past comet strikes on Earth could help scientists understand how frequent large impacts were in the past. The frequency of impacts could be used to determine the likelihood of future, catastrophic impacts. |
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