What happens when two carbon-rich space rocks slam into each other? You'd expect to see clear signs of impact in the ensuing meteorites — but for over 30 years, scientists have puzzled over why ...

In carbon-containing meteorites, impacts create extremely hot carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases (yellow). Credit: Kurosawa Kosuke Carbon-containing meteorites look like they had less severe ...

In carbon-containing meteorites, impacts create extremely hot carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases (yellow). Kurosawa says: “We found that the momentum of the ensuing explosion is enough to eject ...

As you watch the night sky, streaks of light often flash for a moment, then disappear. These brilliant flashes—called fireballs—are caused by space rocks, or meteoroids, entering Earth's atmosphere at ...