NASA’s Lucy Reveals Wobbling, Peanut-Shaped Asteroid
Even small asteroids lead complex lives. During its flyby of the asteroid Donaldjohanson last year, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft revealed the asteroid to be a wobbly, peanut-shaped body that has undergone a lot of activity in its relatively short history. Formed as fragments coalesced after a violent collision 155 million years ago, the asteroid was transformed by the small but inexorable force of the Sun’s radiation, all while retaining signs of the brief presence of liquid water in its distant past.
The science section covers breakthroughs in medicine, physics, biology, and technology. We surface discoveries that expand what humanity can do, from new treatments reaching clinical trials to engineering feats that seemed impossible a decade ago. Every link goes to the original publisher so you can read the full study or press release yourself.
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM So many of us participate in the same morning coffee ritual: the machine warming up…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM A dam fell in Iceland last December, the first the country has ever deliberately di…
Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Tropical Storm Arthur Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer T…
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Hi…