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Solar System
Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids
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WISE Discovers over 90 Near-Earth Objects
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
07/21/10 |
| Summary: NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, completed its first survey of the entire sky. Among the more than one million images of everything from asteroids to distant galaxies, WISE has discovered over 90 near-Earth objects. |
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Hayabusa Contains a Hint of Dust
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
07/07/10 |
| Summary: The sample return canister from the Hayabusa spacecraft has been opened, and does contain a small amount of dust, possibly from the asteroid Itokawa. Studying samples from an asteroid can help astrobiologists determine if impacts delivered materials important to the origins of life on the early Earth. |
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Not a Comet, but Fungus, Fire and Fecal Pellets
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
06/20/10 |
| Summary: New findings challenge a theory that the cooling period known as the Younger Dryas was caused by an impact. What was previously thought to be geologic evidence of intense heating at the time has now been shown to be fossilized balls of fungus, charcoal and fecal pellets. |
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Our Comets, Celestial Wanderers?
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
06/13/10 |
| Summary: A new theory suggests that many comets, including ones like Halley and Hale-Bopp, may have been formed around other stars before traveling to our solar system. Understanding the origin of comets can help us understand how these objects from space may have played a role in delivering materials to the early Earth. |
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Asteroid Sample Headed for Earth
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
06/12/10 |
| Summary: On June 13, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency is expecting the delivery of a sample return capsule from the near-Earth asteroid, Itokawa. The samples could help astrobiologists understand the role of asteroids in delivering materials to Earth that were important in the origin of life. |
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The Walt Whitman Meteor Mystery
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
06/02/10 |
| Summary: In Leaves of Grass, famed poet Walt Whitman wrote of a "strange huge meteor-procession." Now, using forensic astronomy, researchers may have rediscovered one of the most famous celestial events of Whitman's day. |
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Asteroid Provides Clues to Earth's Oceans
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
04/30/10 |
| Summary: The first-ever discovery of ice and organic molecules on an asteroid may hold clues to the origins of Earth's oceans and life 4 billion years ago. Researchers detected a thin layer of water ice and organic molecules on the surface of a large asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. |
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Study Counters Clovis Comet
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
04/16/10 |
| Summary: A team of researchers has re-examined data concerning the Pleistocene extinction that occurred 13,000 years ago. Their work may show that the extinctions of animals like mammoths and saber tooth cats in North America were not caused by an extraterrestrial impact. |
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The Deadly Sting of a Comet Tail
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| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
04/02/10 |
| Summary: 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 |
| Summary: 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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