Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 has a close encounter with a peanut-shaped asteroid, Torifune. Credit: JAXA / The University of Tokyo / Chiba Institute of Technology / Institute of Science Tokyo / AIST ...

Asteroids as a research area encompasses the scientific investigation of small rocky bodies primarily located in the asteroid belt and throughout the Solar System, focusing on their composition, ...

Asteroids, comets and Kuiper belt are bodies smaller than planets that orbit the sun. Asteroids are composed of metals and rock, whereas comets also contain ice and dust. The Kuiper belt is a ...

A meteorite that lit up the skies above New York City before crash-landing through someone's roof contains evidence of how life was originally brought to Earth from alien worlds.

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft returned spectacular images of a near-Earth asteroid following a super-close flyby on July 5, but heated debate was needed before teams signed off on the daring attempt.

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