Tag: asteroids

Asteroids may hit earth; scientists clamor for $250 million telescope

  The chances of an asteroid impacting earth and destroying a major area are higher than one might think. This according to scientists that monitor nuclear weapons detonations, who say they have detected at least 26 asteroids between 2000 and 2013. According to Tom Jones, President of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), they have already “asked the UN to consider five new measures to protect earth from asteroid strikes.” On the top of the list […]

Astronomers witness never-before-seen asteroid break-up

WASHINGTON, March 7 (PNA/Xinhua) — Astronomers said Thursday they have witnessed for the first time the breakup of an asteroid, disintegrating into as many as 10 smaller pieces at a “leisurely” speed. The crumbling asteroid, designated P/2013 R3, was first noticed as an unusual, fuzzy-looking object by ground-based telescopes in Arizona on Sept. 15, 2013, the researchers reported in the U.S. journal Astrophysical Journal Letters. A follow-up observation on Oct. 1 with the W. M. […]