Incoming point

Celestial Objects to Observe

"Potentially Hazardous" Asteroid Is Headed For Your Telescope

A potentially hazardous asteroid makes a flyby of Earth this Friday, offering amateurs with modest telescopes a chance to ride along.

Orbit of asteroid 2019 LF6

Solar System

Sky-surveying Telescopes Sweep Up Near-Earth Asteroids

Discoveries include a near-Earth asteroid with the shortest “year” and another found hours before it burned up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Near-Earth asteroid

People, Places, and Events

Planetary Society Grants Help Astronomers Track Dangerous Asteroids

There are some 25,000 near-Earth asteroids with diameters more than 140 meters. Amateur astronomers can find them — and the Planetary Society can help.

Just Saying Hello

Celestial News & Events

See a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid From Your Backyard

Get ready for 2014 JO25, the biggest asteroid to fly this close to Earth since 2004. Good news — even a 3-inch telescope will show it! Update: See below for a radar image and animation of 2014 JO25 captured by NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar on April 18, 2017. Every week, a…

Orbit of asteroid 1998 QE2

Solar System

Biggish Asteroid 1998 QE2 Pays Earth a Visit

This week's visit by asteroid 1998 QE2 is just a courtesy call, as it passes by on May 31st at 15 times the Moon's distance. A NASA radar team has already discovered that this big space rock has a sizable companion.