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Such an asteroid would level Central America, trigger tsunamis, spark global fires, and plunge the planet into an artificial winter lasting over a decade. Bunkers would be insufficient for survival without years of provisions.
As these rocks enter Earth's atmosphere at high speeds, friction causes them to burn up, briefly leaving streaks of light. The color of these fireballs can be used to determine the composition of the meteoroid, if it does not reach the ground and become a meteorite for analysis.
Although asteroid detection is mandated by law, the NEO Surveyor telescope, which is specifically designed to detect asteroids, received more than twice the funding requested by NASA in 2023.
Every year, Earth travels through a series of meteor showers—the Perseids in August, the Lyrids in April—and a fraction of them light up the sky as they hit the atmosphere. Explore each group of meteors with this fascinating, year-round interactive.
Roughly 66 million years ago, a giant meteor struck Earth off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. Some dinosaurs died in the immediate impact, which sent a 200-foot tsunami all the way up to what is now North Dakota. Many others perished in the resulting change in climate, with debris ejected into the global atmosphere. This 12-minute video provides an overview of what scientists have uncovered about the fateful day.
Meteor showers derive from Earth's annual passing through the debris trail of a comet in its orbit around the sun. The most popular showers are named after the constellation near where they show up at their peak—for example, the Perseids appear to fall from the formation Perseus. Thousands of objects from the size of a grain of sand to small boulders light up in the atmosphere 60 miles above the Earth's surface, traveling at roughly 30,000 mph. This short video provides a basic overview of what causes meteor showers and how humans have interpreted them over the centuries.
Roughly 50 tons of meteorite material arrives on Earth every day, and many of the larger objects survive the hot temperatures of the atmosphere and make landfall. This tracker compiles data from survey sites across the globe to present the latest...
Every summer, Earth passes through the debris trail of the Swift-Tuttle comet, producing the spectacle of the Perseids meteor shower. The phenomenon is a glorious opportunity for amateur stargazers, but astronomers have long noted the comet's orbit...
Each year, Smithsonian scientists collect hundreds of meteorites from Antarctica that reveal details about the origins of Earth and our solar system.
The annual Perseids meteor shower occurs in the Northern Hemisphere's summer, peaking usually around mid-August. The phenomenon is caused by the Earth's passing through a comet's debris trail of ice and dust, providing a weekslong spectacle for...
From roughly 60 miles above the Earth's surface to farther than light has traveled during the entire age of the universe, space has captured human imagination for millennia. Explore the final frontier with the best resources curated from across the internet.