Kelly Fast, current head of NASA’s PDCO (Planetary Defense Coordination Office), explains IAWN (the International Asteroid Warning Network) in a Nature piece (well, Nature Reviews Physics– a Nature title). https://www.nature.com/articles/s42254-025-00912-7May Chiao, 05 January 2026 Inside the International Asteroid Warning Network… Read More »Nature Interviews Kelly Fast
The James Webb Space Telescope certainly is capable. A better question: given the limited time James Webb has to observe, what should we prioritize, what should be handed off to other (lesser, let’s say) telescopes, and what about all the… Read More »JWST Survey: Small-Body Science
Just in the latest Nature issue (vol 649 #8098): https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00188-6Michael Eisenstein, 21 January 2026 Seven technologies to watch in 2026 “Scientists excel at discovering limits — and then pushing beyond them.” The illustrious journal Nature cites the pusher, Vera Rubin.… Read More »To Watch the Watchers?
Catching up yet again with Advances In Space Research for 15 Jan 2026 (vol. 77 #2), a mid-month issue: Liu, D. Yan, W. Liu, J. et al. Close-proximity imaging and 3D modeling simulation analysis of asteroid 2016HO3 Pg 2637 .2025.12.002Wu,… Read More »Note, Paper: Close… Maybe Too Close
The January Meteoritics & Planetary Science (vol. 61, #1) is up today. Good on them for recognizing they were behind: Fukai, R. Nishimura, M. Yumoto, K. et al. Nondestructive analysis of Bennu samples toward comparative studies with Ryugu samples P.… Read More »Note, Paper: Sample Analysis And Impacts
Aired Wednesday night, and also available online- a PBS asteroid documentary: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/asteroids-spark-of-life/Nova: Asteroids: Spark of Life? Earth started off as a barren rock. Somehow, it became inhabitable and inhabited. Here we see some of the possible stages in that process,… Read More »Asteroids: Spark of Life? Documentary
As I had briefly mentioned: the Catalina Sky Survey, one of Earth’s premiere asteroid detector systems, is hiring an observatory tech (or two): https://arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/4/home/requisition/24868Survey Operations Specialist, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (updated) One prerequisite: you’ll be on a mountaintop, in the… Read More »Catalina Sky Survey Hiring
Catching up with Advances In Space Research for 1 Jan 2026 (vol. 77 #1): Tan, X. Li, C. Wang, J. et al. Ground validation of dust multi-properties analyzer onboard Tianwen-2 Pg 1206 .2025.10.086Lin, C-M. Yang, I-C. The characteristics of the… Read More »Note, Paper: Grain Stain Explainers
Nothing from Space Science Reviews for a while, then Boom (vol. 222): Palomba, E. Dirri, F. Gisellu, C. et al. VISTA: Dust and Volatile Sensor for the ESA Hera Mission 10 s11214-026-01266-x The Hera mission to asteroid Didymos and its… Read More »Space Science Reviews Milani-VISTA
In the February 2026 Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy (vol. 138 #1): Voyatzis, G. Gkolias, I. Gaitanas, M. et al. Terminator periodic orbits around binary asteroids: an application to the ESA Hera mission 2 s10569-025-10274-y Irregular shapes give irregular gravity… Read More »Note, Paper: Dimorphos Sol-oriented Orbits