Asteroids are among the objects many can see in space, and many of them approach the planet, passing by the Earth’s orbit and into other parts of the Solar System. A new report reveals that asteroids actually explode as its host stars die.
According to Popular Science, the space rocks with host stars wind up exploding when its star goes through the process of dying. When stars are dying, like what the Sun will be in the very far future, they go through a red giant phase and then shrink down into a white dwarf. It is in this white dwarf phase that they expel a lot of light and energy, and this light, when shone on the asteroids, will send the rocks spinning until it explodes into smaller debris made up of dirt and possibly traces of iron if the asteroid is “dirty.”
Those so-called dirty asteroids would be filled with iron or other kinds of metals that, when it explodes, leaves streaks when they hit the dying star before collapsing. As to why asteroids end up fragmenting when exposed to the cosmic energy radiating from these dying stars, it is down to their shapes and how they end up interacting with light. Because the asteroids are oddly shaped, they interact with light differently, sending the light and energy in various directions within the rock, and they start to spin until they ultimately explode. This is known as the YORP effect, named after the four scientists who explained this phenomenon: Yarkovsky, O’Keefe, Radzievskii, and Paddack.
Meanwhile, a group of international researchers was able to take a closer look into the asteroid known as Pallas. They conducted a study to be able to identify the size and shape of this space rock, and now it appears that they have the answer. They found that Pallas, named after the Greek goddess of wisdom Pallas Athena, actually resembles a golf ball due to its heavily cratered surface.
As to why the asteroid looks the way it looks, the researchers believe that its inclined orbit causes this space rock to collide with other rocks in a span of four and a half years that it takes to rotate around the Sun.


Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission
Trump and Merck KGaA Partner to Slash IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Coverage
Neuren Pharmaceuticals Surges on U.S. Patent Win for Rare Disorder Drug
Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment
SpaceX’s Starship Completes 11th Test Flight, Paving Way for Moon and Mars Missions
Trump Administration to Launch Autism Initiatives Targeting Acetaminophen Use and New Treatment Options
Ancient Mars may have had a carbon cycle − a new study suggests the red planet may have once been warmer, wetter and more favorable for life
Eli Lilly’s Inluriyo Gains FDA Approval for Advanced Breast Cancer Treatment
Is space worth the cost? Accounting experts say its value can’t be found in spreadsheets
FDA Lifts REMS Requirement for CAR-T Cell Cancer Therapies
NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead
Lab-grown meat: you may find it icky, but it could drive forward medical research
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Reaches New Heights but Ends in Setback
Kennedy Sets September Deadline to Uncover Autism Causes Amid Controversy
Tabletop particle accelerator could transform medicine and materials science 



