Within the Asteroid family, the Near Earth Objects (NEO)
are bodies whose orbits bring them to proximity with Earth. Occasionally, asteroids’ orbital paths are influenced by the gravitational tug of planets and their paths are altered. Scientists believe stray asteroids or fragments from collisions have crashed into Earth in the past and that these have played a role in the evolution of planet Earth.
Running from 01 January 2020, NEOROCKS can track and study NEOs. How? Cooperation among different teams of expert astronomers and using sophisticated instrumentation and theoretical models.
NEOROCKS scientists study the NEOs’ dynamical and physical properties. Why? To determine their orbit and characterize their nature, in particular those that could collide with the Earth.
Find out more about our project in our SUMMARY page and about our Team on our Consortium and Advisory Board pages. If you are new to all this, please see our Glossary to find out what all the terminology means.
We will keep you up to date with our News and we’ll upload our results onto the Materials and outputs page, as soon as they are ready.
And if you need anything else or if you just want to get to know NEOROCKS a bit better, please get in touch.
News
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Join the PRISMA Days 2020
The project PRISMA (First Italian network of systematic surveillance of meteors and atmosphere) aims to set up an Italian network of all-sky cameras for the observation of exceptionally bright meteors (fireballs and bolides). The objective is to determine the orbits
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What are the chances of an asteroid hitting us?
Ever wondered about the risk of asteroids hitting earth? What are the chances? What potential impact? If you speak Italian, listen to Ettore Perozzi from the Italian Space Association (ASI) explaining the odds of such an impact and what scientists are
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Amazing week for Asteroid research!
This week, NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft completed its “tag-and-go” manoeuvre to collect surface rock from asteroid Bennu. This is an amazing achievement, reported all over the world. We’ve collected some great press articles for you, so you can find out more about
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Congratulations Andrea Ghez!
NEOROCKS sends huge congratulations to Andrea Ghez, Nobel Prize in Physics 2020! The Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 was divided, one half awarded to Roger Penrose "for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory
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MANIFESTO FOR EU COVID-19 RESEARCH
The European Commission has launched the MANIFESTO FOR EU COVID-19 RESEARCH, to maximise the accessibility of research results in the fight against COVID-19. The Manifesto is part of the EU Coronavirus response, the common European response to the coronavirus outbreak. It provides
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Would you be a good asteroid observer?
The 24th of July was a busy night at the Tenerife Observatory. Join the ESA challenge and try to spot the 3 asteroids that were visible that night. Among them, you’ll see the previously unknown 2020 OM3. You have until the