Planetary defense

Planet Earth is parting company with an asteroid that's been tagging along as a "mini moon" for the past two months.

The harmless space rock peeled away on Nov. 24, overcome by the stronger tug of the sun's gravity. But it will zip closer for a quick visit in January.

Discovered just a month and a half ago, on August 7, an asteroid is now approaching Earth’s orbit and will arrive on Sunday, September 29.

For about two months, this small cosmic companion will move parallel with Earth as both orbit the Sun. This unusual celestial visitor is a Near Earth Object (NEO), a category that includes small celestial bodies like asteroids and comets.

NASA has issued a warning about an asteroid the size of “a stadium” that will approach Earth on Tuesday, September 17.

“Our simulations indicate that the DART impact caused global deformation and resurfacing of Dimorphos”

For only the eighth time in history, scientists detected an asteroid before it made its fiery appearance over Earth

A sample from the asteroid Bennu, which could be key to understanding the formation of the solar system and our own planet, is set to be analyzed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston after it reaches Earth in late September.

Bruce Willis: you can stand down.

A truck-sized asteroid that suddenly loomed out of the darkness a few days ago -- with the Earth in its sights -- sailed harmlessly past us on Thursday, space scientists said.

Despite what we've seen in movies like "Armageddon," no global mission to blow it up or knock it off course with nuclear weapons was required.

Astronomers have discovered that a potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid has an unusual accelerating spin that could eventually change its trajectory

NASA reported a historic success for space science. The agency broke the news that it was the first time in the history of space exploration that an asteroid had been deflected.

This happened after the agency sent a probe named DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) to the asteroid Dimorphos.

A spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away succeeded in shifting its orbit, NASA said Tuesday in announcing the results of its save-the-world test.

The space agency attempted the test two weeks ago to see if in the future a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth's way.