B612

Former astronaut Ed Lu on NASA and saving Earth from asteroids

Ed Lu Ph.D. 89 is a former NASA astronaut more recently known for his work as CEO of the B612 Foundation, which aims to “hunt asteroids that could hit the Earth and potentially cause human devastation.” Lu sat down with The Daily to discuss his...

Russia meteor virtually impossible to see coming

[caption id="attachment_23849" align="alignnone" width="860"] REUTERS/Copyright 2013 EUMETSAT/Handout[/caption] Scientists have begun piecing together the characteristics of the meteor that exploded over Russia on the morning of February 15, using data from seismic instruments that track earthquakes and microphones designed to detect sonic booms from nuclear explosions. Unlike...

A chance to prevent future asteroid impacts

Today's meteor explosion over Chelyabinsk is a reminder that the Earth orbits the Sun in a shooting gallery of asteroids, and that these asteroids sometimes hit the Earth. Later today, a separate and larger asteroid, 2012 DA14, will narrowly miss the Earth passing beneath the...

To Save Earth From Asteroids, We Must Find Them Early

On Friday the 165-foot-diameter asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass by the planet just 18,000 miles above the atmosphere. The near miss of Earth is a dramatic reminder of the threat posed by its rogue relatives. Planetary scientists estimate there are close to a million near-earth...

One man’s bold quest to save the Earth from asteroids

He calls it the biggest environmental project imaginable. Ed Lu believes one of the biggest threats to the planet isn’t even on the Earth, it’s in space. Asteroids. Ed Lu says asteroids hit earth all the time. “Really small ones are just the shooting stars you...

The Committee to Save the Planet: Who Watches the Asteroids?

This week, a hunk of space rock half the size of a football field will pass historically close to us, between Earth and our communication satellites. Scientists are certain the asteroid, dubbed 2012 DA14, will not hit Earth. If it did, the resulting explosion would...

NASA: Asteroid flyby next week is the closest ever of its size

A close encounter of the rocky kind is set for Feb. 15, when an office-building-size asteroid will speed past Earth faster than a bullet and closer than some communications satellites. It will be the nearest recorded brush with a space rock so large, NASA scientists said...

Asteroid Watch

An in-depth story about the threat of asteroids and the goals of the B612 Foundation to protect humanity and all that we cherish here on Earth. Read the Article: "Asteroid Watch" Smithsonian AIR & SPACE Magazine (January 2013)...