Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. An asteroid, previously used by NASA for a planetary defence test, has been successfully shifted onto a slightly altered path around the sun, scientists reported on Friday.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- An asteroid that NASA used for target practice a few years ago was nudged into a slightly different route around the sun, findings that could help divert a future incoming killer space rock, scientists reported Friday.