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Hot Topic
Solar System
Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids
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NASA’s SWIFT Monitors Comet Garradd
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
04/17/12 |
| An unusually dust-rich comet is helping astrobiologists understand how comets change as they move farther away from the Sun. |
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Impacts Could be Boon for Subterranean Life
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
04/16/12 |
| A drilling project into the Chesapeake Bay impact crater has found evidence that the subsurface may become more habitable after a large impact. |
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Earth's Many Moons
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
04/02/12 |
| Astronomers have found that the Earth has 'minimoons' that can orbit our planet for less than a year at a time before returning to their normal positions as asteroids orbiting the Sun. |
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Comet Shows Evidence of Space Weathering
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/31/12 |
| Dust grains from Comet Wild 2 are helping scientists reappraise the traditional picture of comets. Understanding the composition of comets can help astrobiologists determine their potential role in the origins of life on Earth. |
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Deflecting Asteroids with Lasers
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/28/12 |
| Engineers are developing an innovative technique based on solar-powered lasers that could radically change asteroid deflection technology. Such technology could help prevent impact disasters in the future. |
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Asteroid 2011 AG5: A Reality Check
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/07/12 |
| Asteroid 2011 AG5 was discovered in January 2011, and as scientists define its orbit, they expect that it will not pose a problem for the Earth in the foreseeable future. |
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Impact May Have Caused Global Cooling
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
03/07/12 |
| A team of international scientists has uncovered evidence that a large impact occurred on Earth around 13,000 years ago. The impact may have corresponded with an unusually cold period in Earth's history known as the Younger Dryas. |
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Project NEOShield
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
02/10/12 |
| Over the next three years, the NEOShield project will investigate how to prevent dangerous impacts with asteroids and comets that could hit Earth in the future. The study also could lead to a better understanding of the composition, structure and surface texture of these space objects. |
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To Land on a Comet
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
02/08/12 |
| In 2014, the European Rosetta spacecraft will enter orbit around a comet and land a probe on its surface. Rosetta will have a front-row seat as the comet swings closer to the Sun and is affected by the fierce solar heat. |
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Vesta is Cold and Dark Enough for Ice
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
01/28/12 |
| Half of the giant asteroid Vesta is expected to be so cold and to receive so little sunlight that water ice could survive. |
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