minor planets
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The Expanse Begins Its Final Chapter With Thrills and Ultimatums
It’s finally returned — for just six episodes, but at this point any Expanse is better than no Expanse, and we are more than ready to see the Rocinante back in action. Season six kicks off with “Strange Dogs,” and we meet the title creatures even before the opening credits roll. Strange? Yes. Dogs? Well…
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9 Things to Know About NASA’s Armageddon Mission to Deflect an Asteroid
NASA’s DART mission to redirect a non-threatening asteroid is set to launch later this week. Here’s what you need to know about this historic deep-space test and how “kinetic impactors” could eventually protect our civilisation from an asteroid apocalypse.
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Very Large Telescope Images 42 of the Biggest Asteroids in Our Solar System
Though not as massive or colourful as planets, asteroids have a lot to teach us about our local corner of the universe. That’s especially the case for asteroids close enough to be sampled — such as Bennu was in October 2020 — or when rocky fragments fall to Earth as meteorites.
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Incoming Visitor From the Oort Cloud Could Be Among the Largest Comets Ever Documented
An object of unusual size will make its closest approach to the Sun in 2031, during which time it will swing past the orbit of Saturn and possibly turn into an exceptionally large comet. Astronomers are already looking forward to the potential “fireworks” display.