This artistic animation shows asteroid 2024 YR4 passing by Earth. Astronomers created a 3D image of the newly discovered asteroid after observing it with a telescope in Chile. (9NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R.

NASA has defined asteroids as small, rocky objects that orbit the sun like planets, but they are much smaller in size. Most of them are found in the main asteroid belt, a region between the orbits of ...

Although the odds remain low, astronomers say they’ll continue to closely monitor the asteroid’s path in the months ahead.

The team used 2024 YRY's pattern of light output over time, or lightcurve, to study the asteroid's shape, composition and orbital characteristics, according to the statement. From the rock's ...

Detailed analysis of the asteroid's lightcurve, its pattern of light and output in time, allowed the team to work out its composition, orbital characteristics and 3D shape. The team determined ...

Considering these orbital characteristics, the team determined that 2024 YR4 probably originated in the main asteroid belt, with a high probability of being perturbed into its current near-Earth ...

“We compare the orbital elements of 2024 YR4 with the near-earth asteroid population model and find that its most likely sources are resonances between the inner and central main belt.

despite them not being the most obvious candidates in terms of orbital mechanics. The asteroid is likely fully solid, and not a rubble pile like the large asteroids Bennu and Ryugu. It was ...

The team used 2024 YRY's pattern of light output over time, or lightcurve, to study the asteroid's shape, composition and orbital characteristics, according to the statement. From the rock's ...

Detailed analysis of the asteroid's light curve - its pattern of light output in time - allowed the team to determine its composition, orbital characteristics and 3D shape. The team determined ...

Dinosaurs were not in decline before the asteroid hit, instead poor fossilisation conditions and unexposed late Cretaceous rock layers mean they're either not preserved or hard to find ...

The asteroid 2024 YR4 — the one that caused ... team to accurately determine not only the asteroid's composition and orbital characteristics but also its distinctly flattened, hockey-puck ...