Asteroid Phaethon – Astronomy Now

27 March 2026

Latest News

[ 25 March 2026 ] Artificial Intelligence uncovers more than 100 new worlds in NASA data News
[ 24 March 2026 ] XRISM solves gamma-Cas’s 50-year X-ray mystery News
[ 16 March 2026 ] Molten lava world points to new class of planet Focus on
[ 26 January 2026 ] Dr Allan Chapman (1946-2026) News
[ 16 January 2026 ] Potentially bright ‘sungrazing’ comet discovered News

Sodium jets may explain asteroid Phaethon’s comet-like brightening

17 August 2021 Astronomy Now

When does an asteroid behave like a comet? Perhaps when sub-surface sodium heats up and fizzes into space during a close pass by the Sun.

Arecibo radar returns with asteroid Phaethon images

29 December 2017 Astronomy Now

After several months of downtime since Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico, the Arecibo Observatory Planetary Radar has returned to normal operation, providing the highest-resolution images to date of near-Earth asteroid 3200 Phaethon during its December 2017 close approach to Earth.