News about Asteroids, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.
Chronology of Coverage
Feb. 1, 2015
Op-Ed article by science writer Peter Brannen describes how geologists have been debating whether asteroid or volcanic eruptions led to extinction of dinosaurs; notes that asteroid theory, proposed by Luis and Walter Alvarez, has long been dominant, but research by Gerta Keller has led to softening of positions in debate. MORE
Nov. 7, 2013
Research by a team of scientists is suggesting that Earth is vulnerable to asteroid strikes as often as every decade or two, elevating topic of planetary defense; findings appear in journal Nature; separate report on asteroid explosion over Russian city Chelyabinsk appears in journal Science. MORE
Aug. 22, 2013
Gail Collins Op-Ed column examines debate over America's space program in Congress; notes while space exploration enjoys wide bipartisan support, Republicans have taken issue with Pres Obama's proposals for attempting to study asteroids, and that it seems their objection to plan is merely that Obama proposed it. MORE
Jul. 30, 2013
Republicans in Congress reject NASA plan to capture small asteroid with unmanned spacecraft in 2018 and haul it closer to earth for further study; vote is split entirely along partisan lines, unusual given that most NASA plans receive bipartisan support; bill is to be reworked by Democratic-controlled Senate. MORE
May. 19, 2013
Loose Ends column by author Bill Franzen describes best way to inform one's children of the inevitability that Earth will be destroyed by an asteroid. MORE
Apr. 9, 2013
The Week column; National Aeronautics and Space Administration appears ready to move forward with plan to send robotic spacecraft to capture small asteroid and move it somewhere near the Moon for study; other significant developments in health and science news highlighted. MORE
Apr. 6, 2013
Budget being readied by Obama administration includes $105 million proposal for two-stage National Aeronautics and Space Administration program in which a robotic spacecraft would grab a small asteroid and drag it back toward Earth for analysis. MORE
Mar. 21, 2013
Former astronaut Edward Lu makes case for need to detect asteroids on a trajectory for Earth before Senate panel in Washington, DC. MORE
Feb. 17, 2013
Meteor that rattled Siberia brought new life to efforts to deploy adequate asteroid detection tools, in particular a space telescope that would scan solar system for dangers; entrepreneurial group B612 Federation is one of several pursuing ways to ward off threatening comets or asteroids. MORE
Feb. 10, 2013
Op-Ed article by Donald K Yeomans, senior research scientist and manager of Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, contends that asteroid that will pass near earth on Feb 15 is a warning about more than two dozen others that have chance of striking earth; calls on NASA and its domestic and international partners to redouble search for near-Earth objects with more powerful telescopes. MORE
Dec. 25, 2012
Washington-based company Planetary Resources intends, within a decade or so, to have an unmanned robotic mining mission to the asteroid belt. MORE
Dec. 25, 2012
Report in journal Science says that fast-moving fireball seen over Nevada and California on April 22 was small asteroid from the inner region of asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. MORE
May. 11, 2012
Observation's by NASA's Dawn spacecraft published in journal Science confirm that Vesta, the solar system's second largest asteroid, is in fact a dwarf planet. MORE
May. 8, 2012
Stephen L Brusatte study published online in journal Nature Communications paints a nuanced portrait of dinosaurs during the last 12 million years of their existence; findings, however, do not ultimately dispel the common belief that an asteroid was the major factor in a catastrophic mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period. MORE
Apr. 24, 2012
Planetary Resources Inc unveils plans to mine near-Earth asteroids for precious metals and water; also plans to become a supply hub for satellites, space stations and future planetary travelers; company's big-name investors include Google founders Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, as well as filmmaker James Cameron. MORE
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ARTICLES ABOUT ASTEROIDS
Maybe an asteroid didn’t wipe them out.
February 1, 2015, Sunday
Results from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission suggest that comets most likely did not supply early Earth with its water.
December 11, 2014, Thursday
A predicted asteroid appears to have created the meteorite, which left a crater 16 feet deep.
September 8, 2014, Monday
The former astronaut on wrestling, Godzilla and airplane dreams.
June 22, 2014, Sunday
Washington, we have a problem.
August 22, 2013, Thursday
In a straight party vote, Republicans in the normally bipartisan House science committee vote down a NASA proposal and call for a Moon base.
July 30, 2013, Tuesday
Shouldn’t news of our planet’s complete vulnerability come from a parent rather than a “friend”?
May 19, 2013, Sunday
Recent developments in health and science news and a glance at what’s ahead.
April 9, 2013, Tuesday
The $105 million proposal would begin planning on a two-stage program in which a robotic spacecraft would grab a small asteroid and drag it back toward Earth.
April 6, 2013, Saturday
Scientists have gotten a much more accurate picture of the small asteroid that exploded near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk last month.