Asteroids – News – Science – The New York Times

In a Space Probe's Flawed Journey, a Test of Japan's ExpertiseScientists were disappointed when preliminary tests of Japan's Hayabusa space probe showed no signs of samples from Itokawa, 4.6-billion-year-old asteroid it was supposed to retrieve; have now detected traces of vaporized material inside container from asteroid, which makes elliptical orbit around sun; news offers hope that Japan has not lost technological edge, although Japanese companies have failed to gain traction in market for global satellite communications; photos July 2, 2010 By topics.nytimes.com

How to prepare for the next major sun blast.

How to prepare for the next major solar storm.By By LAWRENCE E. JOSEPH

In a Space Probe’s Flawed Journey, a Test of Japan’s Expertise

Scientists were disappointed when preliminary tests of Japan's Hayabusa space probe showed no signs of samples from Itokawa, 4.6-billion-year-old asteroid it was supposed to retrieve; have now detected traces of vaporized material inside container from asteroid, which makes elliptical orbit around sun; news offers hope that Japan has not lost technological edge, although Japanese companies have failed to gain traction in market for global satellite communications; photosBy By HIROKO TABUCHI

In Faulty Hayabusa Space Probe, a Test of Japan’s Expertise

Japan’s businesses would like a bigger share of the global market for satellites and other space infrastructure.By By HIROKO TABUCHI

Rethinking What Caused the Last Mass Extinction

The discovery of thriving communities of survivors at the end of the Cretaceous period is giving some scientists second thoughts about the extinction’s causes and effects.By By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD

The 7th Annual Year in Ideas

Times Magazine's favorite ideas of 2007 include airborne wind turbines to capture reliable wind energy 1,000 feet up, 50-question telephone quiz to screen for Alzheimer's disease, discovery that people interpret ambiguous information offered by online dating prospects in positive light and are let down when live encounter clears things up, theory of why appendix evolved, proposal for deflecting asteroids from Earth by means of satellite-mounted mirrors, biodegradable coffins for 'green' burial,...By query.nytimes.com

Something Not to Worry About

The thought of the forces at play in the solar system makes for a thrilling even chilling reminder that it was a very dangerous place at the start.By nytimes.com

Maybe Chicken Little Wasn’t Paranoid After All

“Civilization killers” are one thing, but when it comes to earth-bound objects, smaller rocks matter too.By By ANDREW C. REVKIN

Fingers Crossed, Physicists Are Ready for Collider to Roll

The world will probably not end on Wednesday, but a lot of people will be holding their breath anyway.By By DENNIS OVERBYE

Dr. Sacks’s Asteroid

To honor Oliver Sacks on his 75th birthday, the Committee of Small Body Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union is naming an asteroid after him.By COMPILED BY JULIE BLOOM