Asteroids are small bodies in space—the numerous leftover planetesimals from which the planets were made nearly 4.6 billion years ago. Most are in the "main belt," which is a doughnut-like volume of space between Mars and Jupiter...

For much of history, the solar system was thought to consist of large objects: Earth, the Moon, the Sun, and other planets. However, within the last two centuries astronomers have discovered a menagerie of small objects throughout the solar system,...

Johannes Kepler was the first to postulate the existence of a hidden planet between Mars and Jupiter, a theory long pondered by astronomers. Then, in 1766, Johannes Titius (1729-1796), a professor of mathematics and physics in Germany, developed a...

Asteroids are rocky material left over from the formation of the solar system that orbit the Sun, but are too small to be Asteroid 243 Ida and its moon, photograph. . Reproduced by...

Asteroids, also called minor planets or planetoids, are a class of astronomical objects. The term asteroid is generally used to indicate a diverse group of small celestial bodies in the solar system that orbit around the Sun. 'Asteroid' (Greek for...

A piece of outer space named for George Takei is in kind of a rough neighborhood for somebody who steers a starship: an asteroid belt.An asteroid between Mars and Jupiter has been renamed 7307 Takei in honor of the actor, best known for his role...

NASA astronaut and former University of Hawaii solar physicist Edward Lu is calling for a new spacecraft that would divert asteroids on a path to slam into Earth.The small space tractor, costing between $200 million and $300 million, would hover near an asteroid to exert...

NASA this weekend is set to launch a spacecraft that will journey to the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter, a mission that involves a rendezvous with two of the solar system's largest asteroids.Seeking clues about the birth of the solar system, the...

NASA officials say the space agency is capable of finding nearly all the asteroids that might pose a devastating hit to Earth, but there isn't enough money to pay for the task so it won't get done.The cost to find at least 90 percent of...