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...Unlike most near-Earth asteroids, which are thought to hail from the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, asteroid 2016 HO3, also known as Kamo'oalewa, was likely blasted from the Giordano Bruno crater on the moon's far side and has been hurtling through space for several million years...Measuring between 150 and 190 feet in diameter, the asteroid is about half the size of the "London Eye" Ferris wheel...Previous research pointing to Kamo'oalewa likely originating from the moon included its reflectance spectrum, which is more compatible with lunar materials rather than the general population of near-Earth asteroids, and...

Scientists believe Kamo’oalewa will remain alongside Earth for millions of years. Could a near-Earth asteroid be a piece of the moon? Astronomers from the University of Arizona believe so. In a captivating cosmic discovery, scientists uncovered evidence suggesting that a near-Earth asteroid called Kamo’oalewa might be a fragment of the moon. The finding challenges previous assumptions about the origins of near-Earth asteroids and could have significant implications for our understanding of celestial bodies close to our planet.

Apparently Earth has at least one, and probably several "mini moons" that follow Earth's orbit around the sun, and most likely come from chunks of Earth's moon blasted out from collisions with meteors and asteroids. Interesting, didn't know anything about this.

A new study of metal ore deep inside the moon is offering fresh evidence that Earth's natural satellite was formed by an ancient planet crashing into Earth long ago. This long-theorized interplanetary collision — which scientists believe occurred some 4.5 billion years ago — saw a Mars-sized planet named 'Theia' slice itself into hot lava fragments upon impact with the Earth. While some of Theia's planetary remains appear to be buried as dense and massive 'blobs' deep underneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean's tectonic plates, scientists said evidence for where the rest of Theia went after this crash had remained...

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is being mocked for suggesting the far side of the moon is always “dark” and can’t explain why China is interested in exploring that part of the moon. “What do you think the Chinese are trying to get at, at the back side of the moon?” Rep. David Trone (D-MD) asked Nelson at a congressional hearing last week. “They are going to have a lander on the far side of the moon, which is the side which is always in dark. Uh, we’re not planning to go there,” he said.

Let us start by saying we expect different levels of expertise from different people. Like for instance, if we are talking to a layperson and they indicated they didn’t know the difference between a motion to dismiss and a motion for summary judgment, we wouldn’t bat an eyelash at it. That is a level of ignorance that is just normal and justifiable for people who don’t deal with the law very much. We wouldn’t make fun of a such person for not knowing that or look down on them: We would simply explain the difference. But if a person claims...

While Democrats and leftist alarmists decry conservatives for supposedly peddling "misinformation" about "the Science™" related to climate, COVID, and genders (there are two, FYI), their own Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas is out and about telling constituents some real whoppers about the solar eclipse.

Social media users trashed Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, after she turned her gaffe about the moon being "made of gases" into a slam of Republicans on social media Tuesday. Reacting to the backlash she received for telling school children that the moon is made of gases ahead of Monday’s eclipse, the lawmaker said that her Republican critics are hounding her because they have a "lust for stupidity." She gave a speech at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston on the day of the eclipse, telling an assembly of students, "Sometimes, you need to take the opportunity just to...

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee ( D-TX) once sat on the House Science Committee and the House Space Committee. But understanding astronomy seems to elude her. Jackson Lee attended an event at Booker T. Washington High School where the “Trust the Science” party member clearly does not understand the science. Jackson Lee explained to the crowd, “You have the energy of the moon at night.” What?

This is what happens when you teach nothing but racism in school, and leave out anything actually, you know, educational. >p> During an event in Houston just before the eclipse Monday morning, Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee told the audience gathered at the Mickey Leland Federal Building that the moon was made up “mostly of gasses” (it isn’t) and that it's "almost impossible to go near the sun" (we actually can't go near it at all) because it's a "mighty powerful heat" (you don't say!?). Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: It's "almost impossible to go near the sun," but the...

In September 2021, many people went into a frenzy when the United States Postal Service announced that their mail delivery service would become permanently slower. This new phenomenon is called Pre-Parcel Anxiety. “We live in a society where we build expectations and uphold perfectionism. We want things here and now. We want efficiency and struggle with patience,” psychotherapist Owen O’Kane explains. Today, we’re seeing what I’m calling Pre-Trib Anxiety. The world is in such a mess that anticipation of the always-imminent rapture is making people anxious. Where is it? It should have been here by now. Why is there a...

Incredible map shows the places on the moon where we might find ‘infinite energy’ or trillions in minerals by 2030. A new space race is warming up after half a century, with Russia, China and America racing to put robots, human astronauts and even lunar trains on the moon. The prize is enormous, with resources ranging from ‘rare earth’ minerals used in electronics to Helium-3, a potential energy source which could power a nuclear fusion revolution offering infinite clean energy. Morgan Stanley has previously suggested that the global space industry could be worth $1 trillion annually by 2040 - and...

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has set its sights on the Moon, recently choosing defense giant Northrop Grumman to work on concepts for building a lunar railroad network, according to the Debrief. The recent development is DARPA's latest announcement concerning their 10-year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study. The ultimate goal is to reportedly establish a human colony on the Moon and a "thriving lunar economy." DARPA published the following statement about the development: The 10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) will explore the rapid development of foundational technology concepts designed to move away from individual scientific efforts within isolated, self-sufficient systems...

The Moon’s contraction causes fault scarps and moonquakes in the south pole, posing risks for lunar outposts. Findings from a recently published paper led by Smithsonian senior scientist emeritus Thomas R. Watters reveal evidence that the south polar region of Earth’s moon has experienced the effects of the shrinking moon. Global contraction of the moon has caused young lobate thrust fault scarps near and within some regions NASA has proposed for the crewed Artemis III moon landing. The paper, “Tectonics and Seismicity of the Lunar South Polar Region,” published recently in the Planetary Science Journal, associates one of the most...

Intuitive Machines have successfully soft landed on the Moon, carrying a number of payloads for NASA, this represents a return to the moon for the USA. However far more significantly, it's the first purely commercial lander to land on the surface of the moon, and the first lunar lander to use purely cryogenic propellents for all its deep space maneuvering. Both of these factors are core to NASA's Artemis program, and so seeing success here is important to NASA's plans.However.It's far from a perfect success, because it appears to have fallen over during the landing, and this is limiting the...

An artist's conception shows Japan's SLIM lander in its upended position on the lunar surface. (Credit: JAXA) Japan’s space agency didn’t expect its wrong-side-up SLIM moon lander to revive itself after powering down for a circuit-chilling lunar night on Feb. 1. But that’s exactly what happened. “Last night, a command was sent to SLIM and a response received, confirming that the spacecraft has made it through the lunar night and maintained communication capabilities!” the SLIM mission team reported today in a posting to X / Twitter. This wasn’t SLIM’s first resurrection: The boxy spacecraft touched down and tumbled onto its...

Stock in Intuitive Machines sharply dropped in after-hours trading Friday after the company’s Odyessus lunar lander tipped over when it landed on the moon’s surface. The extreme stock move shows just how hard it is to trade events that will move a small capitalization stock. Intuitive and NASA held a news conference on Friday evening. The lander “is stable, near or at the intended landing site,” said Intuitive CEO Steve Altemus. One hiccup though—the lander is on its side. Altemus said the craft was going 25,000 miles an hour in orbit and landed at about 6 miles an hour, with...

A private U.S. lunar lander is expected to stop working Tuesday, its mission cut short after landing sideways near the south pole of the moon. Intuitive Machines, the Houston company that built and flew the spacecraft, said Monday it will continue to collect data until sunlight no longer shines on the solar panels. Based on the position of Earth and the moon, officials expect that to happen Tuesday morning. That’s two to three days short of the week or so that NASA and other customers had been counting on. The lander, named Odysseus, is the first U.S. spacecraft to land...

A private robotic rover touched down on the moon Thursday, becoming the first US spacecraft in more than 50 years to land on the lunar surface. The landing of the vehicle, built by Intuitive Machines, also marked the first time in history a private company successfully pulled off the incredible feat. The craft – dubbed Odysseus – landed some 250,000 miles away near the south pole of the moon around 6:23 p.m. ET — although communication between the rover and crews on the ground were weak, officials said. “We’re evaluating how we can refine that signal,” said mission director Tim...

The Odysseus lander launched atop a SpaceX rocket on a journey to the lunar surface — aiming for the first touchdown of a US-made spacecraft on the moon in decades. The Odysseus lunar lander, nicknamed “Odie” or IM-1, has embarked on a historic journey to the lunar surface — aiming to make the first touchdown of a US-made spacecraft on the moon in five decades. The launch follows closely on the heels of a separate US lunar landing mission that failed in January. NASA has ramped up the development of robotic spacecraft via private partners to evaluate the lunar environment...