Find uplifting stories about heroes, innovations, and solutions
1153 results for "asteroid extinction"
New fossils from New Mexico prove dinosaurs were flourishing in diverse ecosystems right until the asteroid struck, overturning a century of scientific belief that they were already dying out. The discovery includes 30-ton giants walking Earth just 380,000 years before extinction.
New fossil evidence proves dinosaurs weren't dying out before the asteroid hit—they were flourishing in diverse ecosystems right up to the end. The sudden extinction that reshaped Earth shows nature's resilience and vulnerability in one dramatic moment.
NASA's asteroid defense mission captured the first proof that space rocks gently toss debris at each other like cosmic snowballs, reshaping surfaces over millions of years. The discovery came from images taken seconds before the spacecraft deliberately crashed into an asteroid in 2022.
A team at UC Santa Barbara has designed a system to blast dangerous asteroids into harmless bits using rockets and technology we already have. Unlike asteroid deflection methods, this "Pulverize It" program could work even with short warning times.
Amateur astronomers with smart telescopes are joining NASA missions to track dangerous asteroids and discover comets. One citizen scientist in South Africa captured crucial data during NASA's asteroid deflection test.
The most dangerous asteroid ever discovered won't hit Earth or the moon after all, thanks to NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope tracking it 280 million miles away. Scientists now have proof that asteroid 2024 YR4 will safely pass by both worlds in December 2032.
The world's most powerful space survey telescope just started collecting data, and it's already discovering asteroids at a mind-blowing pace. In its very first images, the Rubin Observatory found 1,500 new asteroids, including some spinning faster than scientists thought possible.
A filmmaker got an asteroid officially renamed after beloved musician Elliott Smith, and the cosmic timing couldn't be more perfect. The asteroid's number matches Smith's birthday exactly: August 6, 1969.
Scientists finally cracked the puzzle of why asteroid Bennu looked so unexpectedly rocky when NASA's spacecraft arrived. The answer hiding inside samples brought back to Earth reveals a fractured world that changes how we understand asteroids.
A Silicon Valley nonprofit is working to protect our planet from dangerous asteroid impacts through research, education, and global cooperation. Since 2002, the B612 Foundation has been advancing asteroid detection and deflection strategies while teaching the world about these cosmic threats.
For the first time ever, humans have measurably shifted the orbit of a celestial body around the Sun. When NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid in 2022, the impact changed the path of not just one asteroid, but two.
When NASA deliberately smashed a spacecraft into an asteroid in 2022, scientists hoped to prove we could defend Earth from space rocks. New data reveals the impact did something even better: it shifted the entire asteroid system's path around the Sun.
Scientists discovered a bus-sized marine crocodile in Tunisia that lived 20 million years later than its species should have gone extinct. The finding is forcing researchers to rethink what they know about ancient mass extinctions.
Four years after NASA crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid to test Earth's defenses, scientists confirmed it worked even better than expected. The impact not only changed the asteroid's path but altered its orbit around the Sun for the first time in human history.
Scientists peering inside rocks from asteroid Bennu discovered something unexpected: tiny crack networks that solve a puzzle about how asteroids behave in space. The discovery came from samples that traveled 4 billion miles to reach Earth.
Two major space agencies just signed a historic agreement to send a spacecraft to asteroid Apophis during its rare close flyby of Earth. The mission will gather crucial data to help protect our planet from future asteroid threats.
China is preparing to launch its first planetary defense mission in December 2027, aiming a spacecraft at asteroid 2016 WP8 to test humanity's ability to protect Earth from space threats. The mission marks another nation joining the effort to keep our planet safe from asteroids.
Four years after NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid, new research confirms humanity just changed a space rock's path around the Sun for the first time ever. The successful experiment means we now have a proven way to protect our planet from future asteroid threats.
On April 13, 2029, asteroid Apophis will pass closer to Earth than satellites orbit, creating a once-in-millennia stargazing event visible without telescopes across Europe, Africa, and Asia. Scientists are launching multiple missions to study this harmless space rock that will offer unprecedented insights into our solar system.
A 100-meter asteroid once labeled the "most dangerous in decades" will safely pass the moon in 2032, scientists confirm using the James Webb Space Telescope. The advanced tracking eliminated fears of a lunar collision that could have disrupted satellites.
Showing 20 of 1153