From the Perseids to the Leonids and even the Draconids, an opportunity to see shooting stars sizzle is never too far away.

USRA is seeking a Director to provide scientific leadership for, and management of, the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) and to maintain it as a premier research center in support of NASA’s strategic goals in planetary science and exploration of the solar system.

IMAGINE STANDING ON THE EDGE of a giant crater, knowing nothing about how this massive hole in the ground came to be. Or figuring out that a cataclysmic event like an asteroid hitting the Earth killed the dinosaurs, but having no visible evidence on the planet of a collision of that magnitude.

A new citizen science project called Vigie-Cratère is inviting “citizen scientists” to travel Earth in search of impact craters to help scientists better reconstruct the history of collisions with Earth. 

.."Imagine an undersea Yellowstone Caldera, but one that is several times larger and produced by the staggering impact event that resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs," says lead author David Kring at the Lunar and Planetary Institute of the Universities Space Research Association.

The ~180-km-diameter Chicxulub peak-ring crater and ~240-km multiring basin, produced by the impact that terminated the Cretaceous, is the largest remaining intact impact basin on Earth. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Expedition 364 drilled to a depth of 1335 m below the sea floor into the peak ring, providing a unique opportunity to study the thermal and chemical modification of Earth’s crust caused by the impact.

Memorial, Bruce F. Bohor, the 2011 Barringer Medalist of the Meteoritical Society, passed away at this home in Gree Valley AZ on November 17, 2019. Bruce is best known in our community for his discovery of shocked quartz in layers of marking the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T, now called the Cretaceous-Paleogene, K-Pg) boundary in the central United States in the early 1980s following the famous paper by Alvarez and co-authors in Science in 1980, in which they report geochemical evidence for an asterioid impact from K-Pg boundary in Italy.

Could life have swum in those waters billions of years ago? A bit of 4-billion-year-old rock blasted off the Martian surface about 15 million years ago and eventually landed in Antarctica, where explorers found it in 1984.

Did you know that Arizona is home to one of Conde Nast Traveller’s Seven Wonders of the World 2020? Arizona’s Meteor Crater is an awe-inspiring meteor impact site that is over a mile wide and 550 feet deep. It will now once again be open to adventurers and space enthusiasts from all over the world. Meteor Crater has announced it will reopen the attraction on May 21, after being temporarily closed due to the coronavirus.

Can you imagine multi-colored meteor showers timed for your city event or national holiday? This company has developed this concept. From an article from ScienceTimes.com: Japan’s first big Artificial Meteor Shower Show was delayed due to technical challenges. The Astro Live Experiences-2 (ALE-2) satellite of a Tokyo-based company was launched to the Earth's orbit in December 2019 atop a Rocket Lab Electron booster. Initially, they planned to create meteor shows at special events for thousands of people to see.

… Today, both Arizona State University and the University of Arizona contribute hugely to space exploration, and the state is also home to a number of private companies heavily involved in the field. The unique qualities of the Arizona landscape also make it a natural home for some of the world’s leading observatories, as well as ongoing training and research around [Barringer] Meteor Crater and elsewhere.

The world famous Arizona attraction Barringer Meteorite Crater will reopen on May 21, 2020, to once again welcome travelers from near and far to explore and learn about the world's best preserved meteor impact site.

Sometimes a flash in the night is actually an asteroid slamming into the moon. Because such impacts offer valuable information about Earth's own barrage of space rocks, scientists have established programs that look for the brief bright flashes on the moon that represent lunar impacts. A new such telescope recently began operations, confirming observations of another telescope's 100th impact flash detection.

In the early morning of 30 June 1908, something exploded over Siberia. The event shattered the normal stillness of the sparsely populated taiga, so powerful that it flattened an area of forest 2,150 square kilometres (830 square miles) in size…

Analyzing satellite images showing the terrain between the villages of Qaret Had El Bahr and Qaret El Allafa, Egypt, an international research team discovered what seems to be a previously unknown crater in the midst of the Sahara Desert. The shape resembles a typical impact crater, like the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona.

Scientists have identified 4-billion-year-old nitrogen-containing organic molecules in a Martian meteorite, a discovery that may shed light on whether or not the Red Planet once hosted life.

The Lunar Planetary Institute announces the next Field Training and Research Program at Meteor Crater, a week-long field class and research project based at Barringer Meteorite Crater, Arizona, more popularly known as Meteor Crater.

while stuck at home you may be able to witness the Lyrid Meteor Showers -  In a dark sky, you might see about 10 to 15 meteors per hour at the shower’s peak. But the Lyrids are always welcome, a break from the “meteor drought” that always comes in the early part of every year. In 2020, the skinny and almost-new moon won’t hinder the view. Bring on the Lyrids!

A New England photographer captured an astronomically wondrous image of a meteor shooting through the sky with a Milky Way backdrop. 

You don't need any special equipment or a lot of skills to view a meteor shower. Even though all you really need is a clear sky, lots of patience, and our handy Interactive Meteor Shower Sky Map with a visibility conditions meter to see a meteor shower, the following tips can help maximize your shooting star viewing experience.