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Asteroid Day

@asteroidday

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Asteroid Day is an official UN day, observed on June 30. Raising awareness to protect Earth from asteroid impacts and inspire the next generation.

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Get your binoculars and telescopes ready! 🔭

Opposition is one of the best times to observe Vesta, one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt. Through a telescope, it appears as a small point of light, the detailed surface images you may recognise were taken up close by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft.

Did you know? Vesta takes its name from the Roman goddess of the hearth and sacred fire, the counterpart of Hestia in Greek mythology.

📍 Find Vesta in the sky with this interactive map: https://in-the-sky.org/findercharts.php?obj=A4
📚 Learn more about the best time to observe an asteroid: https://asteroidday.org/resources/asteroid-learning/when-is-the-best-time-to-observe-an-asteroid/

#AsteroidDay #Vesta #Astronomy by @asteroidday

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8 days ago

🚀 World Space Week is almost here!

From 4–10 October, communities around the world will celebrate humanity’s achievements in space science and technology. 🌍

This year’s theme, “Rocket Revolution”, highlights how reusable rockets and new launch technologies are opening up opportunities to explore space.

For planetary defence, that journey begins on the launch pad. ☄️ In November 2021, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched @nasa ’s DART spacecraft towards a pioneering test: could deliberately striking an asteroid change its motion?

In 2022, DART successfully changed the orbit of the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos around its larger companion, demonstrating a technique that could one day help protect Earth.

Alongside such missions, telescopes on Earth and in space help us discover and track near-Earth asteroids and comets, giving us the knowledge needed to assess potential threats.

At Asteroid Day, we’re proud to celebrate the science and the people helping us explore our Solar System and protect our planet.

📅 4–10 October 2026

📷 Photo credits: Bill Ingalls / NASA

@worldspaceweek by @asteroidday

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17 days ago

What does an asteroid taste like? ☄️🍫

Chocolate meteorites, popcorn meteor showers, asteroid-shaped treats and even Tunguska-inspired bites… Around the world, Asteroid Day organisers have found some deliciously creative ways to bring space science to the table.

From the USA to Brazil, Argentina, France, Portugal and Chile, food and drink have become another way to learn, spark conversations and bring people together during Asteroid Day celebrations.

Hungry for more? Discover some of the tastiest Asteroid Day ideas from around the world.

🔗 Read the full article, link in bio.

#AsteroidDay #Asteroids #Meteorites #SpaceScience #Science #Space #stem

@bigfootblends_ @erikagracyele @sab_astro @bkstrongsville @ucoimbra @fundacionastromania by @asteroidday

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24 days ago

What does Asteroid Day sound like? ☄️🎶

From classic rock on the radio in the USA and UK, to synthwave in Chile, a DJ in Argentina and live music in Brazil, music has become part of Asteroid Day celebrations around the world.

Beyond setting the mood, music can offer another way to connect people with science, making events more memorable and bringing communities together.

Discover some of the sounds that have accompanied Asteroid Day celebrations across the globe.

🔗 Read the full article, link in bio.

#AsteroidDay #Asteroids #Space #Science #Music #SpaceScience by @asteroidday

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a month ago

🌕 Look up at the Moon on 19 September!

@nasa International Observe the Moon Night is back, bringing people around the world together to observe and learn more about our closest celestial neighbour.

Take a closer look at the Moon’s surface and you’ll see the lasting traces of its history, including countless craters formed by asteroid impacts. ☄️

Join an event near you and discover the Moon from a new perspective. 🔭 by @asteroidday

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a month ago

Ça n’arrive que tous les 7500 ans…

Voici une autre menace dont on parle peu. Mais grâce à Apophis, les @unitednations ont nommé 2029 l’année de la Défense Planétaire !

Save the date pour le prochain #asteroidday : 26 juin 2027 au Luxembourg ☄️ by @asteroidday

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a month ago

🚀 Hera’s Next Mission

After completing its investigation of Didymos and Dimorphos, Hera is set to take on a new role: becoming a flying laboratory for the future of deep-space exploration.

ESA is inviting European researchers and companies to propose experimental software that could run onboard Hera, millions of kilometres from Earth.
The goal is to test new approaches to spacecraft autonomy, onboard image processing, data prioritisation and AI-based operations in a real deep-space environment, where communication delays can make constant support from Earth impossible.

The experiments will run in a protected “sandbox”, separate from Hera’s flight-critical systems, allowing new technologies to be tested without handing over control of the spacecraft.

The experimental campaign is planned for August 2027.

Source: ESA
Photo credit: AFP PHOTO / EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY

#AsteroidDay #HeraMission #ESA #PlanetaryDefence #Asteroids #SpaceExploration by @asteroidday

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a month ago

Astronomers may have identified the first known three-lobed asteroid.

New high-resolution observations of asteroid (44) Nysa reveal an unusual structure, with three distinct lobes connected by narrower regions.

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Large Binocular Telescope, researchers were able to examine Nysa’s shape in remarkable detail. They also detected a small satellite orbiting the asteroid.

How did Nysa get its unusual shape? Researchers are considering several possibilities, including major impacts that reshaped a single body or the collision and merging of multiple objects.

For now, its origin remains an open question, and a fascinating new clue to how asteroids form and evolve.

Source: Sci.News, based on research led by Lowell Observatory. by @asteroidday

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2 months ago

☄️ How do you introduce young children to asteroids and planetary defence?

Through play, creativity and curiosity.

Around the world, Asteroid Day activities have turned complex scientific ideas into experiences children can explore for themselves, from creating model asteroids and imaginary space missions to planetarium visits, art, games and journeys through the Solar System.

These initiatives show that learning about asteroids can begin at an early age, in ways that are engaging, accessible and fun, sometimes involving entire families along the way.

Have you organised an asteroid-themed activity for children? Share your experience with us and help inspire educators, parents and event organisers around the world. 🌍

To read the full article, link in bio.

#AsteroidDay #PlanetaryDefence #SpaceEducation #Asteroids #STEMEducation by @asteroidday

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2 months ago

🌑 No eclipse glasses? The sky has another show waiting for you.

Today’s solar eclipse is capturing attention across the Northern Hemisphere, but once the Sun goes down, there is another reason to keep looking up. ☄️

The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak tonight, 12–13 August, and this year the timing is particularly favourable: a New Moon means darker skies and better conditions for spotting meteors.

The Perseids appear each year as Earth passes through debris left behind by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, with tiny particles entering our atmosphere and creating the bright streaks we see across the night sky.

No special equipment needed for this one, just find a dark place away from city lights, give your eyes time to adjust and look up.

From an eclipse at sunset to meteors after dark, 12 August is quite a day for skywatching. 🌑☄️

#AsteroidDay #Perseids #MeteorShower #SolarEclipse #Astronomy #SpaceScienc by @asteroidday

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2 months ago

The Sky Joined Asteroid Day 2026 🌍☄️
This year’s Asteroid Day was accompanied by an extraordinary series of real-time asteroid events.

On 27 June, asteroid (152637) 1997 NC1 made its closest approach to Earth in centuries, giving astronomers and Asteroid Day organisers a rare opportunity to observe it safely.

A few days later, JAXA’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft flew past asteroid Torifune, revealing it to be a contact binary made of two rubble piles joined together by gravity.

At the same time, CNSA’s Tianwen-2 mission reached Kamoʻoalewa, Earth’s fascinating quasi-satellite, where it is preparing to collect samples that are expected to return to Earth in 2027.

Three events, one shared message: asteroid science is advancing every day, helping us better understand these fascinating objects and our place in the Solar System.

Read the full story on our website. Link in bio

#AsteroidDay #Asteroids #PlanetaryDefence #SpaceScience #Astronomy #Hayabusa2 #Tianwen2 by @asteroidday

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3 months ago

#Spacetech 🚀 The Asteroid Foundation’s annual Festival returned to Cercle Cité, drawing nearly 1,200 visitors and reaching 800 students in schools nationwide.

The Asteroid Day Festival brought space science to Luxembourg, capping a week-long ASPIRE education programme in which astronauts Julie Payette and Mike Foreman, astrophysicist Kathrin Altwegg and astronomer Gianluca Masi visited six schools across the country.

✔️ Read the full article on siliconluxembourg.lu

#Siliconluxembourg #AsteroidDay #Luxembourg taken in Luxembourg, Luxembourg by @asteroidday

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3 months ago