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NASA has successfully smashed a spacecraft into an asteroid seven million miles from Earth.

The last image from the “vending machine-sized” collider showed the surface of the asteroid Dimorphos seconds before impact.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is the first-ever trial of a “planetary defence system”.

If the orbit of an asteroid can be changed by an object sent into space, humanity may have a chance at protecting itself from the kind of disaster that did it for the dinosaurs.

NASA, and the international team of astronomers working with them, chose their target carefully. To prove success, they needed an asteroid they can carefully monitor following the collision. They also needed to make sure any impact wouldn’t send a previously harmless piece of rock spiralling towards Earth.

They picked a pair of asteroids: the 780 metre-wide Didymos, and its moon Dimorphos which is 160m wide – about the size of the Great Pyramid.

DART approaches Dimorphos
Image:
DART approaches Dimorphos

Because Dimorphos is already safely orbiting its bigger partner, they can study the change in its behaviour following the collision.

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Dimorphos is also a fairly common size of asteroid. While significantly smaller than a kilometres-wide “planet killer”, it’s of a type easily big enough to destroy a city.

“What Dart is going up there to prove is that we actually do have a system for kinetic deflection, nudging these away and nudging them off course,” says Betsy Congdon, DART’s mechanical systems engineer at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

If you’ve seen Hollywood disaster movies Deep Impact, Armageddon or more recently Don’t Look Up, prepare yourself for mild disappointment.

Despite smashing a half-tonne spacecraft into Dimorphos at close to 15,000 miles an hour, the effect on the asteroid is expected to be tiny – checking its speed by just 0.4mm per second.

But over time, that should have a measurable effect on its orbit. An array of land and space-based telescopes including NASA and ESA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, will all study the asteroid to measure the outcome of the test.

An illustration of NASA’s DART spacecraft on a collision course with the asteroid Dimorphos. Pic: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
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An illustration of NASA’s DART spacecraft on a collision course with the asteroid Dimorphos. Pic: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

Although it’s only a modest objective, the engineering involved was a major undertaking. Didymos is far too small and far away for DART to be steered into it from Earth. The probe had to use an autonomous guidance system to target the asteroid which is so small it was only visible in DART’s cameras about 50 minutes before impact. But the sat-nav seems to have worked perfectly.

The hope is, that a tiny nudge might be enough – if the impact is sufficiently far away – to deflect a future asteroid on collision course with Earth off target.

Astronomers estimate they have tracked the orbits of 95% of asteroids large enough to destroy life on Earth and none is currently on a collision course. But there are many smaller ones. According to NASA, no known asteroid larger than 140m across is likely to hit Earth in the next 100 years. But they think they’ve only found about 40% of them.

The NASA team celebrates as DART impacts Dimorphos
Image:
The NASA team celebrates as DART impacts Dimorphos

Around 66 million years ago a 10km-wide asteroid slammed into what is now the Yucatan Peninsular of Mexico. It left a crater 110 miles wide and 12 miles deep. The resulting change in the planet’s climate is thought to have caused the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. The impact wiped out 75% of animal and plant species on Earth – and famously ended the reign of flightless dinosaurs.

But even small space rocks can lead to a bad day on Earth. In 2013 a 20m-wide asteroid exploded as a meteorite over the city of Chelyabinsk in the Ural region of Russia. The blast was equivalent to 500 tonnes of TNT, about a third of the force of the Hiroshima bomb. While no deaths were reported there were more than 1,400 casualties, some of them serious.

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“An asteroid impact is the one kind of natural disaster that we could potentially see coming decades away,” says Prof Colin Snodgrass at the University of Edinburgh is a member of the DART team.

He’s helped set up a telescope in Kenya to monitor the impact from Earth. “If one [the size of Dimorphos] was ever discovered coming towards earth being able to do something about that seems like a very sensible technology to have.”

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Donald Trump refuses to rule out military force over Panama Canal and Greenland – as he warns NATO to spend more

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Donald Trump refuses to rule out military force over Panama Canal and Greenland - as he warns NATO to spend more

US president-elect Donald Trump has refused to rule out military or economic action to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland – as he said he believes NATO spending should be increased to 5% per member state.

Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Mr Trump made a series of sweeping claims on what his policies could look like when he takes office on 20 January.

He said he believes NATO spending should be increased to 5% per member state, while he also declared US control of Greenland and the Panama Canal as vital to American national security.

The 78-year-old Republican also spoke of relations with Canada, as well as addressing his position on the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.

Sky News takes a look at some of the key claims brought up during the conference.

NATO

Mr Trump claimed “nobody knows more about NATO than I do”, before adding: “If it weren’t for me, NATO wouldn’t exist right now.

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“I raised from countries that weren’t paying their bills, over $680bn. I saved NATO, but NATO is taking advantage of us.”

The president-elect also said members of NATO should be contributing 5% of their GDPs (gross domestic product) to defence spending – the previous target has been 2%.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
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Donald Trump speaking at Mar-a-Lago. Pic: Reuters

Greenland and Panama Canal

Asked if he can reassure the world he won’t resort to military action or economic coercion in trying to get control of the areas, he said: “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two.”

“But, I can say this, we need them for economic security.”

He didn’t add any further detail around Greenland – which he has recently suggested the US should own or control – but he said the Panama Canal “was built for our military”.

He said the canal was “vital” to the country and China was “operating” it.

Mr Trump criticised the late Jimmy Carter for his role in signing over the Panama Canal to Panama during his presidency, saying it’s “a disgrace what took place” and “Jimmy Carter gave it to them for one dollar.”

Canada

A day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he was stepping down, Mr Trump said he believed the US’ northern neighbour should become the 51st US state.

He mocked Mr Trudeau by calling him “governor” rather than prime minister.

He argued the US and Canada combined would amount to an “economic force” that would “really be something”.

“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” Mr Trudeau responded.

Israel-Hamas war

Israel has been waging a 15-month war on the militant group ruling Gaza, Hamas, since they launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October which saw 1,200 people massacred and about 250 taken hostage, many of whom remain in captivity.

Mr Trump said: “If those hostages aren’t back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East.”

Nearly 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to Hamas-run health officials in the enclave.

Analysis: Trump’s warning risks becoming less threatening

Ukraine war

Referring to Russia’s ongoing full-scale war against its smaller neighbour, Mr Trump said a “big part of the problem” was Russian President Vladimir Putin had said for many years he did not want Ukraine involved with NATO.

“Somewhere along the line [outgoing President Joe] Biden said you can join NATO,” he said.

“Well, then Russia has NATO right on their doorstep.

“When I heard the way Biden was negotiating I said ‘you are going to end up in a war’ and it turned out to be a war.”

Asked if he would commit to keep supporting Ukraine during negotiations with Moscow, Mr Trump quipped: “Well, I wouldn’t tell you if that were the case.”

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Mr Trump win’s certified by rival Kamala Harris

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Offshore drilling

Mr Trump repeated one of his favourite phrases from the campaign trail, “drill, baby, drill”.

On Monday, outgoing President Biden moved to ban new offshore oil and gas developments along most US coastlines.

But Mr Trump, who has vowed to boost domestic energy production, said he will undo it.

“We’re going to be drilling a lot of other locations,” he said.

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California firefighters battling wildfire sweeping exclusive Los Angeles hillside dotted with celebrity homes

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California firefighters battling wildfire sweeping exclusive Los Angeles hillside dotted with celebrity homes

Firefighters in California are battling a fast-moving wildfire which is sweeping an exclusive Los Angeles hillside dotted with celebrity homes.

Officials say the wildfire is being fanned by gusts from a “life-threatening” and “destructive” wind storm that is battering southern California.

Firefighters stage in front of the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
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Pic: AP

Firefighters battle the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
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Pic: AP

Fire crews are battling a handful of small blazes in the Los Angeles area, including in the foothills of the Pacific Palisades, between Santa Monica and Malibu.

Around 30,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate.

The smoke cloud from the flames is so high, it can be seen from LA’s famous Venice Beach, more than six miles away.

Actor James Woods has shared footage of flames burning through bushes and past palm trees on a hill near his Pacific Palisades home.

Smoke from a wildfire is seen from the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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Smoke from a wildfire is seen from Venice Beach. Pic: AP

Meanwhile, actor Steve Guttenberg, who also lives in the area, has been helping to move parked cars to make way for fire engines.

“This is not a parking lot,” he told local media.

“I have friends up there and they can’t evacuate… I’m walking up there as far as I can moving cars.”

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Wildfire reaches California houses

Kristin Crowley, fire chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, said the area was experiencing “extreme fire weather conditions” and that more than 250 firefighters were currently attempting to battle the blaze.

She said the fire was initially reported as a 10-acre fire, but, fanned by 40mph winds, had since spread to more than 1,200 acres “and growing”.

Ms Crowley added that the job of firefighters in tackling the blaze was being made “extremely challenging” due to “strong winds and surrounding topography”.

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Soldier who exploded Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump hotel ‘used generative AI to plan attack’

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Soldier who exploded Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump hotel 'used generative AI to plan attack'

A soldier who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI – including ChatGPT – to help plan the attack, police have said.

Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a US Army Green Beret, fatally shot himself just before the truck blew up outside the hotel on New Year’s Day.

Police in Las Vegas say they have now reviewed Livelsberger’s ChatGPT searches prior to the explosion.

According to officers, the searches indicate he was looking for information on explosive targets, the speed at which certain rounds of ammunition would travel, and whether fireworks were legal in Arizona.

Master Sergeant Matthew Alan Livelsberger, the US military member thought to have died in the Tesla explosion in Las Vegas
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Matthew Alan Livelsberger

Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, called Livelsberger’s use of generative AI in planning the attack a “game changer”.

“This is the first incident that I’m aware of on US soil where ChatGPT is utilised to help an individual build a particular device,” he said.

“It’s a concerning moment.”

Officials said last week that Livelsberger left notes in which he labelled the explosion as a stunt which he hoped would be a “wake-up call” for a nation he said was “terminally ill and heading towards collapse”.

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The notes touched on political grievances, societal problems and domestic and international issues, including the war in Ukraine.

However, according to officials, Livelsberger harboured no ill will toward president-elect Donald Trump and in one of the notes he left, he said the country needed to “rally around” him and Tesla boss Elon Musk.

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What was inside exploded Cybertruck?

He also left mobile phone notes saying he needed to “cleanse” his mind “of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took”.

The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. File pic: Reuters
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The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. File pic: Reuters

The FBI said Livelsberger, who had served in the army since 2006 and was deployed twice to Afghanistan, likely suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that there were “potential other family issues or personal grievances in his own life” that may have been “contributing factors”.

Authorities said that Livelsberger, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, acted alone and that the incident appeared likely to be a “tragic case of suicide”.

The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people but virtually no damage to the Trump International Hotel.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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