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Posts

Space Rocks! (1/4/2019) - It was a fantastic holiday season for space fans! In fact, there was so much going on, it was almost impossible to keep up with it all. According to your news sources and interests, you have probably heard about at least some of the amazing things that happened, but chances are you haven’t heard about … Continue reading Space Rocks!
Get Lost in Space! (9/14/2018) - Way back in August, in anticipation of the start of a new school year, I set out to update the pages on this site related to space. Those pages tend to be popular among the teachers and students who use Cosma, and I happen to enjoy updating them, too. It sounded like a short, fun … Continue reading Get Lost in Space!
Asteroids Galore! (6/27/2018) - Head’s up! You’re going to hear a lot about asteroids over the next week or so. The good news is that none of it is related to any specific asteroid hitting us. This media blitz is due to a trifecta of asteroid related events this week. One big reason you’ll hear so much about asteroids … Continue reading Asteroids Galore!
Octopuses from Space! (5/20/2018) - Did you hear the one about the octopuses from space? It sounds like the title of a cheesy sci-fi movie, doesn’t it? But it isn’t, this time, or at least, yet. Instead, it’s actually an oddball theory that’s been put forth in a recently published “scientific” article that’s getting quite a lot of buzz in … Continue reading Octopuses from Space!
Asteroids Everywhere (6/30/2017) - Friday, June 30 is Asteroid Day, so you are going to be hearing a LOT about Asteroids over the next day or so (see Asteroid Day.org, NASA, YouTube and Wikipedia). The reason Asteroid Day falls on this date is because it’s the anniversary of the 1908 “Tunguska event” when scientists believe a 50 meter wide … Continue reading Asteroids Everywhere

Resources

These are organized by a classification scheme developed exclusively for Cosma. More…

General

Portal

Solar System Exploration: Asteroids (NASA)
Asteroid Things (Wikipedia)

Dictionary

asteroid : any of the small rocky celestial bodies found especially between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter — Webster

OneLook, Free Dictionary, Wiktionary, Urban Dictionary

Encyclopedia

Asteroids are a class of Small Solar System Bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones. These terms have historically been applied to any astronomical object orbiting the Sun that did not show the disk of a planet and was not observed to have the characteristics of an active comet, but as small objects in the outer Solar System were discovered, their volatile-based surfaces were found to more closely resemble comets, and so were often distinguished from traditional asteroids. Thus the term asteroid has come increasingly to refer specifically to the small rocky–icy and metallic bodies of the inner Solar System out to the orbit of Jupiter. They are grouped with the outer bodies—centaurs, Neptune trojans, and trans-Neptunian objects—as minor planets, which is the term preferred in astronomical circles.

There are millions of asteroids, many thought to be the often shattered remnants of planetesimals, bodies within the young Sun’s solar nebula that never grew large enough to become planets. A large majority of known asteroids orbit in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter or co-orbital with Jupiter (the Jupiter Trojans). However, other orbital families exist with significant populations, including the near-Earth asteroids. Individual asteroids are classified by their characteristic spectra, with the majority falling into three main groups: C-type, S-type, and M-type. These were named after and are generally identified with carbon-rich, stony, and metallic compositions, respectively. — Wikipedia

Asteroids (Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy, Wolfram Research)
Encyclopædia Britannica

Search

WolframAlpha

Science

Planetary Defense Office (NASA)
NASA Office to Coordinate Asteroid Detection, Hazard Mitigation (NASA)
Planetary Defense Coordination Office, Press Release (PDCO, NASA)

Twenty Years of Tracking Near-Earth Objects (NASA/JPL)
Near-Earth Objects Internet Resources (Library of Congress)

Near-Earth Objects (Minor Planet Center, International Astronomical Union)
Near Earth Asteroids (Minor Planet Center, International Astronomical Union)
Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (Minor Planet Center, International Astronomical Union)
1+ KM Near-Earth Objects (Minor Planet Center, International Astronomical Union)

OSIRIS-REx Mission (NASA)
OSIRIS Rex (Wikipedia)
101955 Bennu (NASA)
101955 Bennu (Wikipedia)

Preservation

History

The Discovery of Asteroids (ESA)

Library

WorldCat, Library of Congress, UPenn Online Books, Open Library

Participation

Education

What is an Asteroid? (Space Place, NASA)
More to Explore: Asteroids, Comets and Meteorites (NASA)
Comets, Meteors & Asteroids (Ask an Astronomer, Cornell University)
Asteroids (Cosmos4Kids)

Course

Crash Course Astronomy (YouTube)

OER Commons: Open Educational Resources

Community

Government

Document

USA.gov

Expression

Fun

The Great Asteroid of 1998 (FailBook)

Poem

OEDILF: The Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form

More…

Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.

NASA's Webb to explore a neighboring, dusty...
on July 22, 2021 at 11:21 am
Researchers will use NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to study Beta Pictoris, an intriguing young planetary system that sports at least two planets, a jumble of smaller, rocky bodies, and a dusty disk. Their goals include gaining a better understanding of the structures and properties of the dust to better interpret what is happening in the system. Since it's only about 63 light-years away and chock full of dust, it appears bright in infrared light—and that means there is a lot of […]
Planetary shields will buckle under stellar winds...
on July 20, 2021 at 11:00 pm
Any life identified on planets orbiting white dwarf stars almost certainly evolved after the star's death, says a new study led by the University of Warwick that reveals the consequences of the intense and furious stellar winds that will batter a planet as its star is dying. The research is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and lead author Dr. Dimitri Veras will present it today (21 July) at the online National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2021).
DNA duplication linked to the origin and...
on July 19, 2021 at 3:06 pm
Plants are DNA hoarders. Adhering to the maxim of never throwing anything out that might be useful later, they often duplicate their entire genome and hang on to the added genetic baggage. All those extra genes are then free to mutate and produce new physical traits, hastening the tempo of evolution.
Ancient meteorite could reveal the origins of...
on July 19, 2021 at 12:59 pm
A 4.6-billion-year-old meteorite found in the laying in the imprint of a horseshoe is likely a remnant of cosmic debris left over from the birth of the solar system and could answer questions about how life began on Earth.
Megaripples may be evidence of giant tsunami...
on July 16, 2021 at 1:12 pm
A pair of geophysicists from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette working with two independent researchers has found what they believe might be evidence of a massive tsunami created by the Chicxulub asteroid impact. In their paper published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, the group describes their study of seismic data for a site in Louisiana and what they found.
Ariane 6 targets new missions with Astris kick...
on July 14, 2021 at 1:31 pm
ESA will enhance the versatility of Europe's Ariane 6 rocket with a kick stage called Astris in a €90 m development contract with prime contractor, ArianeGroup. This is part of ESA's strategy to extend Ariane 6's capabilities to serve a wider range of space transportation requirements.
NASA solar sail asteroid mission readies for...
on July 14, 2021 at 12:28 pm
Sailing on sunlight, NEA Scout will capture images of an asteroid for scientific study.
NASA Lucy mission's message to the future
on July 13, 2021 at 6:06 am
In the 1970s four spacecraft began their one-way trips out of our Solar System. As the first human-built objects to ever venture into interstellar space, NASA chose to place plaques on Pioneer 10 and 11 and golden records on Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft to serve as messages to any alien spacefarers that may someday encounter these spacecraft. Continuing this legacy, NASA's Lucy spacecraft will carry a similar plaque. However, because Lucy will not be venturing outside of our Solar System, Lucy's […]
Rare meteorite could hold secrets to life on Earth
on July 9, 2021 at 2:27 pm
Scientists are set to uncover the secrets of a rare meteorite and possibly the origins of oceans and life on Earth, thanks to Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) funding.
Researchers have taught a drone to recognize and...
on July 9, 2021 at 2:24 pm
Planetary scientists estimate that each year, about 500 meteorites survive the fiery trip through Earth's atmosphere and fall to our planet's surface. Most are quite small, and less than 2% of them are ever recovered. While the majority of rocks from space may not be recoverable due to ending up in oceans or remote, inaccessible areas, other meteorite falls are just not witnessed or known about.