The launch of the Odin asteroid mission, from AstroForge, was successful. Unfortunately, that’s about the only thing we can say for sure just yet. Separation occurred, and the probe appears to be powered and transmitting, but no useful radio link… Read More »AstroForge Odin OK?
The launch of SPHEREX has been pushed back to Tuesday night. For a quick rundown of (one of) the mission’s primary drivers, see this recent article in Science. Of course, the spacecraft and its spectrometer are useful for multiple investigations,… Read More »SPHEREx science, in Science
Coming in a few short weeks: a Chinese Space Science conference. The 2025 International Conference of Deep Space Sciences will have asteroidal relevance: [ICDSS2025] SPECIAL SESSION: APOPHIS 2029Abstract deadline: March 3, 2025 The 2025 International Conference of Deep Space Sciences… Read More »‘25 Intnl. Conf. of Deep Space Sciences
Just a quick mention of the Vera Rubin Observatory in Science magazine, 27 Feb 2025 Vol 387, Issue 6737 Andy Lawrence Invisible matter, invisible brains? adw0099 This one mentions the co-directives of the project… no, it’s not all about asteroids.
The BBC: kinda big. Therefore, coverage by the BBC is to be taken seriously, both inherently and in its impact on the discourse: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y494xkp3yoRannard, Georgina The asteroid hits and near-misses you never hear about Not scaremongery at all, and rather… Read More »2024 YR4 will still STILL not kill you
Since I mentioned asteroid 2024 YR4, the web coverage (note I didn’t say press coverage) is not encouraging. Not encouraging… about the state of the web. Scaremonger sites are, unfortunately, ready and willing to use scare fodder wherever they can… Read More »No, 2024 YR4 will STILL NOT kill you
It’s a bit much to lump in New Scientist with the lay press, but it’s certainly no peer-reviewed journal. I call MIT Technology Review the same. In the 8 Feb 2025 issue (vol. 265, No. 3529): Drake, Nadia Destination Phobos… Read More »New Scientist ‘SSSB’ News
Today is, I gather, the holiday of something love-related? It sure is. Asteroid “Eros” (named for the Greek god of love) had, twenty-five years ago today, been the site of a space “first”- the first orbiting of an asteroid (or… Read More »25th Anniversary of a First: NEAR
…and speaking of negative, overhyped asteroids: the object 2024 YR4 will likely NOT cause a catastrophe. Firstly, the odds were never good to begin with: as of this past week, December 2032 impact odds were ~1.5-2 percent. Which is to… Read More »No, 2024 YR4 will NOT kill you
In the Jan-Feb issue of MIT Technology Review (vol 128 #1), bit of ‘popular’ press coverage: Nordrum, Amy Vera C. Rubin Observatory p. 23Mann, Adam The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is ready to transform our understanding of the cosmos p.50… Read More »Tech Rev. Prev.