Little pieces of the 4.5 billion-year-old Asteroid Bennu are saying a whole lot about the history of the solar system. As the first asteroid samples to return to the U.S. for research, particles from ...

Most of our knowledge about the Solar System’s formation and evolution comes from the study of extraterrestrial rock samples called chondritic meteorites. These rocks, which are fragments of asteroids ...

Smithsonian researchers analyzed fragments of the near-Earth asteroid and discovered water-rich clays that hint at a distant origin Jack Tamisiea A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample ...

The workings of our solar system are roughly the same now as they have been for millions of years. Moons circle their planets, the planets circle the sun, the sun’s magnetic fields and sunspots wax ...

Cosmic archaeology -- Discovering the solar system -- An evolving solar system -- The question of timing -- Meteorites -- Cosmic chemistry -- A star is born -- Nursery for planets -- Worlds of rock ...