Asteroid 2022 GN1 ‘close approach’ LIVE – New Nasa space rock SOARS past Earth – watch stream live

What is a meteorite?

If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vaporize and becomes a meteor.

On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up, and it may look like a fireball or “shooting star.”

If a meteoroid doesn’t vaporize completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, however, it can land on Earth and becomes a meteorite.

Types of asteroids: M-types

The M-type asteroids (nickel-iron) are made of metal. The compositional variations between asteroids are linked to how distant they originated from the Sun.

After they formed and partially melted, some endured tremendous temperatures, with iron sinking to the center and driving basaltic (volcanic) lava to the surface.

Types of asteroids: S-types

S-type (stony) asteroids are made up of nickel-iron silicate minerals.

Types of asteroids: C-Type

C-Type (chondrite) are the most common asteroids. They are most likely made up of clay and silicate rocks and have a black look. They are among the solar system’s oldest ancient things.

What spacecraft first visited an asteroid?

Galileo, NASA's spacecraft, was the first to visit an asteroid, passing by asteroids Gaspra and Ida, according to .

What is the temperature of an asteroid?

According to , the average temperature of an asteroid's surface is minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Giant asteroids could be spotted early, continued

Scientists at NASA and beyond have created high-tech machines that have the ability to warn us when deadly space rocks are entering the atmosphere.

Using these technologies, scientists were able to predict exactly what time and where the recent asteroid would hit the earth — in this case, March 11 at 5.23pm off the coast of Greenland, and their predictions were correct within seconds.

With these new 'Scout' monitoring technologies, scientists can be better prepared for these potential asteroid disasters.

Giant asteroids could be spotted early

Giant asteroids that could potentially endanger the Earth can be spotted thanks to a special system.

The Scout monitoring system, a small piece of technology the size of a shoebox, may be able to save earth from catastrophic disaster.

Using new “Scout” monitoring technologies, scientists were able to spot an asteroid heading toward earth on March 11, and accurately predict its patterns.

Previous most distant star record

Earendel's distance from Earth beats out the previous record-holder, a star nicknamed Icarus.

That star was observed as it appeared 9.4 billion years ago, which is 3.4 billion years more recent than the new record-holder. 

The discovery proves why we should always be looking up, even for something more commonplace like a passing asteroid.

New image of most distant star, part three

Earendel is 8.2 billion years older than the Sun and Earth.

“When the light that we see from Earendel was emitted, the Universe was less than a billion years old; only 6 percent of its current age," said study co-author Victoria Strait, a postdoctoral researcher at the Cosmic Dawn Center in Copenhagen.

"At that time it was 4 billion lightyears away from the proto-Milky Way, but during the almost 13 billion years it took the light to reach us, the Universe has expanded so that it is now a staggering 28 billion lightyears away."

New image of most distant star, continued

Scientists have nicknamed the star "Earendel," which means “morning star” or “rising light" in old English.

The star was captured by Nasa's Hubble telescope, which launched in 1990.

Located 28 billion light-years away, the star is situated within just 900 million years of the Big Bang, according to a new paper in the journal Nature.

The study also suggests that Earendel could be between 50 to 500 times more massive than our sun, and millions of times more luminescent.

New image from Nasa reveals most distant star

Tuesday night's close approach of a bus-sized asteroid isn't the only exciting thing happening in our skies.

Nasa recently revealed the most distant star ever observed in a new image.

On Wednesday, the US space agency shared a photo of a star dubbed WHL0137-LS – the image is proof of the farthest detection of a star yet.

What is Scout?

Scout, also known as Near-Earth Asteroid Scout, is a miniature spacecraft that flies around in space and returns data back down to scientists on earth.

This data shows scientists potential threats and incoming threats.

Scout is roughly the size of a shoebox.

“Using a science-grade camera, NEA Scout will obtain data that will help close gaps in knowledge about near-Earth asteroids,”  on their website.

Year 2880 looking up, part three

According to , the asteroid doesn't look to be an immediate risk to Earth in the year 2880.

Scientists at  and the  published the most recent update on 1950 DA on March 29, 2022, which drastically reduced the asteroid's hazard.

The impact risk has now been reduced from one in 8,000 to one in 30,000.

On the Palermo Scale, it has also gone from a -1.4 to a -2.0. They'd probably eliminate 1950 DA from their danger lists entirely if it was any lower.

Year 2880 looking up, part two

It was lucky that scientists caught sight of the asteroid at the right time as they were able to direct the Goldstone and Arecibo radio telescopes towards it, according to .

By bouncing radar rays off the surface of 1950 DA, they were able to get a better look at its size and form, as well as learn more about how it traveled through space.

Based on these findings, a new depiction of 1950 DA's orbit was created, as well as a fresh evaluation of its hazard to Earth.

As a result, NASA's Sentry Impact Risk table, which lists all known asteroids with a probability of colliding with Earth in the future, abruptly pushed 1950 DA to the top.

In reality, 1950 DA was the most deadly asteroid known from 2014 until the present.

Year 2880 is looking up

On February 23, 1950, asteroid 29075 (1950 DA) was discovered; a 1.3-kilometer diameter space rock.

Astronomers lost sight of it after that, for slightly over 50 years, due to the timing of its orbit.

It was only discovered again on December 31, 2000, almost three months before the asteroid will pass Earth safely at a distance of roughly 8million kilometers.

Dust cloud forms due to colliding asteroids

The catastrophic scene left behind by a cosmic collision was discovered by data from a decommissioned NASA satellite telescope, according to S.

The magnitude of a debris cloud observed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows that the dust was produced when two dwarf planet-sized particles collided a few hundred light-years away.

What are Trojan asteroids?

 are in the same orbit as a bigger planet, but they don’t crash because they congregate around two specific spots – L4 and L5 Lagrangian points – in the orbit.

The Sun’s and the planet’s gravitational pulls are counterbalanced by a trojan’s proclivity to fly out of orbit.

The Jupiter trojans are the most numerous of the trojan asteroids.

They are estimated to be as abundant as asteroids in the asteroid belt.

There are trojans on Mars and Neptune, and in 2011, NASA reported the finding of an Earth trojan.

Did asteroids bring water to Earth? continued

As Space.com reports, according to Nasa's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), "It seems possible that the origin of life on the Earth's surface could have been first prevented by an enormous flux of impacting comets and asteroids, then a much less intense rain of comets may have deposited the very materials that allowed life to form some 3.5 - 3.8 billion years ago."

Did asteroids bring water to Earth?

Collisions that could kill people could be the reason we're still alive today. Earth was parched and desolate when it was formed, according to .

Collisions between asteroids and comets may have brought water ice and other carbon-based chemicals to the planet, allowing life to emerge.

At the same time, the frequent collisions made it impossible for life to survive until the solar system stabilized.

Later collisions determined which species survived and which died.

Mining asteroids: Is it possible?

The prospect of collecting minerals from asteroids has piqued the interest of NASA, other space organizations, and commercial firms alike, according to .

One often touted resource that some are interested in harvesting from asteroids and the moon is water, which may be turned into rocket propellant to prevent spaceships from having to launch the weight of their return fuel.

Some people are also interested in extracting metals from asteroids, claiming that the asteroid belt holds enormous financial potential.

Others argue that making this strategy financially sustainable is more challenging.

Largest asteroids: Interamnia

Interamnia  of 217.5 miles and circles the sun once every 1,950 days, or 5.34 years.

Because of its distance from Earth, it is not believed feasible to investigate Interamnia.

Largest asteroids: Hygeia

With a diameter of 270 miles, .

It is a large asteroid in the main belt, but due to its almost spherical form, it may soon be classified as a dwarf planet.

It will be the tiniest dwarf planet in our solar system if it achieves this status.

The asteroid was discovered in 1849 by astronomer Annibale de Gasparis.

Hygiea’s orbit does not bring it close to Earth, hence it is not considered potentially dangerous.

Largest asteroids: Pallas

 in 1802 and named after the Greek goddess of wisdom.

It has a diameter of around 318 miles and accounts for about 7 percent of the asteroid belt’s total mass.

Pallas’ orbit, unlike those of other asteroids, is severely inclined at 34.8 degrees, making it difficult to analyze.

Largest asteroids: Vesta

Vesta is the  asteroid in the main asteroid belt and the biggest official asteroid.

Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers discovered it in 1807.

Vesta has a diameter of 329 miles and makes up nearly 9 percent of the total mass of all asteroids.

Vesta, like Earth, is spherical and has three layers: crust, mantle, and core.