Asteroids

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has detected a 710-metre-wide asteroid that rotates once every 1.9 minutes, faster than previously thought possible for its size. Named 2025 MN45, it is the quickest-spinning asteroid over 500 metres across ever observed. Astronomers say its speed suggests it is a single solid rock or even metal, not a loose rubble pile.

20 Mwezi wa tatu, 2026 Imeripotiwa na AI

US company ExLabs announced that its ApophisExL mothership passed a key review ahead of a 2028 launch to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis. The spacecraft will deploy two landers as part of multiple missions studying the asteroid during its close pass by Earth on 13 April 2029. Apophis, 400 metres across, will come within 32,000 kilometres, visible to the naked eye.

New studies suggest that explosions of comets or asteroids above Earth's surface, known as touchdown airbursts, may have occurred more often and caused widespread destruction than previously recognized. Led by UC Santa Barbara's James Kennett, researchers have identified markers of these events in diverse locations, from ocean sediments to ancient ruins. These findings highlight the potential climate and societal impacts of such invisible cosmic threats.

2 Mwezi wa kumi na mbili, 2025 Imeripotiwa na AI

Samples from asteroid Bennu, collected by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, have revealed the presence of ribose and other sugars, completing the set of ingredients needed to kick-start life as known on Earth. This discovery confirms that asteroids like Bennu could have delivered all prerequisites for life to our planet or others. The findings support the idea that life-building molecules formed in briny environments on ancient asteroids.