The opening ceremony of Tokyo 2020 made a massive impact when seemingly out of nowhere a rogue planet appeared in the sky over the Olympic stadium. A shimmering ring gate made of hundreds of drones had morphed into a slowly rotating Earth, like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. In tribute to the drone-made …
Astro-Mining in the Movies
From titanium, helium-3 and sapphire, to pergium, tylium and opus, whether nudging an asteroid too close to Earth, cloning lunar miners to save costs, or mining the outer reaches of the Solar System, here are some movies and TV shows about mining in space. This list is presented in no particular order and the results …
The Largest Objects in the Asteroid Belt
A useful graphic showing the largest objects in the asteroid belt — the first 22 objects in decreasing size from dwarf planet 1 Ceres to 7 Iris ...
Every Asteroid and Comet Disaster Movie Ever Made
Compiling a list of every asteroid and comet disaster movie ever made is no easy feat. First, you need to identify potential candidates. Then you have to watch them all, which can be somewhat harder than finding them. Much like asteroids and comets themselves, there's a whole spectrum of content in these dramas, from the …
Continue reading "Every Asteroid and Comet Disaster Movie Ever Made"
Asteroids and Comets Visited by Spacecraft
Graphics showing all of the asteroids and comets visited by spacecraft...
Earth-Threatening Asteroids and Comets in the Movies
It's the end of the year and one particular tabloid newspaper is again warning us that it could soon be the end of the world — yes, asteroid 2019 AE3 is in our vicinity and the apocalypse is coming. In keeping with the tabloid drama, below is a link to a list of all the …
Continue reading "Earth-Threatening Asteroids and Comets in the Movies"
A History of Asteroid Classification
I once read a quote in a conference abstract that stated the paper had been written to serve as “a historical guide to the asteroid literature for the perplexed”. That quote aptly sums up my desire for writing a piece on the history of asteroid classification and taxonomies, and the schemes currently in use. When …
Making an Impact: Lights, Camera and Asteroid!
More than 100 years have passed since the first film was shown in movie theatres that depicted a rock from space wreaking havoc on Earth—although in that case it was a comet rather than an asteroid making an impact. That movie, a silent black and white film called The End of the World released in …
Continue reading "Making an Impact: Lights, Camera and Asteroid!"
You must be logged in to post a comment.