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Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas will be visible to the naked eye for the first time in 80,000 years.
The answer was there all along.
It's big, but don't worry, it won't come near Earth.
The mammoth comet's approach will provide astronomers a unique opportunity to study the conditions of the early solar system.
It roughly overlaps their wake through solar wind.
The study of the untainted interstellar comet 2I/Borisov has allowed astronomers to compare material found in our solar system to that belonging to other planetary systems.
Sadly, it met its end in the Sun's corona.
Does this mean we can get a tan on a comet?
"It's traveling so fast it almost doesn't care that the Sun is there."
It's only the second time that astronomers have detected an interstellar visitor.
Comets seem to release molecular oxygen all the time -- and some scientists have recreated the process on Earth.
A well-known asteroid is spectacularly disintegrating before astronomers' eyes.
The meteorite only lives as it is falling.
Biology -- it may literally be out of this world.
Phosphates forged in space made their way to Earth on comets and asteroid.
Even before it actually started doing science, TESS sent back awesome footage of a passing comet.
I wonder if it smells stale.
Pluto just got weirder.
Literally out of this world.
Turns out, planet farts are just like ours, but with chlorine!
Asteroids of a feather flock together. Sometimes into a comet.
Comets are far more geologically active than we thought.
There may have been a bang.
As Rosetta's mission draws close to an end, its high-resolution camera snapped a few photos of the Philae lander.
Researchers have documented a more familiar curiosity: what dust particles on a comet look like.
For the first time, astronomers have detected primordial oxygen gassing out from a comet
It's ludicrous, but it might just be crazy enough to work. On Monday, during the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SPACE conference, Masahiro Ono unveiled one of NASA's most recent concepts: hitching a ride on a comet. In short, once a spacecraft is close enough it would launch a tether with a harpoon on the other side, attach to the comet or asteroid then basically reel in until touch down. Once there the probe stays put, recharging its batteries by harvesting energy all while performing some science experiments. When it's done, the probe can detach in search of a new piggyback ride.
Rosetta is a robotic space probe built and launched by the European Space Agency. Along with Philae, its lander module, the craft is performing a detailed study of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The probe usually orbits 67P at a distance of a few hundred kilometers. Footage received from Rosetta over the last year showed a number of dust […]
The European Space Agency has confirmed that the Rosetta mission will continue until at least September 2016, when it will most likely land on a comet called Comet 67P.
Just like a deep fried scoop of ice cream, comets, such as the much heralded Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko which saw a spaceship land on it last year, are thought to be frozen on the inside, wheres the surface is hard and crystallized. The team of scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) believe the findings further expand our knowledge on comets. Some suggest that life on Earth first emerged thanks to key organic molecules and compounds brought forth by comets colliding with our planet. The more we know, the better we can assess these sort of ideas and, if found viable, how often such events might happen in the Universe.
A new study may have finally found where Earth’s water came from. There are currently two competing theories, with one claiming that our planet generated its own water geologically, while the other suggests that water was brought by icy comets or asteroids from outside. A new study concluded that most of the water we see […]
As you might remember, a few days ago we were telling you about the fantastic success of the Rosetta mission – a spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency which orbited a comet and sent landed a probe on it. Now, we already have the first result: Earth’s water probably didn’t come from comets. Did […]
Only a couple of weeks ago, a historic rendezvous between the Rosetta spacecraft and Comet 67P was made after a 10-year round-trip journey of four billion miles. Most importantly, the Rosetta deployed its lander, Philae, safely on the comet’s surface which is set to soon beam back important information pertaining to the comet’s inner composition and other details. For […]
As we were telling you already in several articles, the Rosetta probe is in orbit of a comet – the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet. But to make things even more exciting, Philae, Rosetta’s lander, also made contact with the comet; among other things, the lander found carbon molecules on the comet – the basis of life on Earth. Considering […]
OK, so we’ve been keeping you up to date with what’s been happening with the Rosetta mission, but we had to sleep eventually, and wonderful things have happened in the mean time. In case you’re not aware, here’s a short summary: Rosetta is a probe launched by the European Space Agency (the European equivalent of […]
In case you’re not aware, the European Space Agency is just now trying to send Rosetta’s lander, Philae, towards the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The probe is already orbiting the comet and has revealed the most accurate topography of a comet. Watch the live stream here: Further updates: The separation went great, and the lander is on its way […]
As I am writing this, the Rosetta mission’s lander, Philae, is mid way through its landing on a comet. If everything works out, this will be the first time humans have landed anything on a comet and will provide valuable information about not only the comet in particular, but also our solar system in general. […]
Launched by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Rosetta probe is nearing a crucial part in its mission – it will soon send a lander carrying 10 instruments on a comet. It will be the first time mankind lands anything on a comet, and the study could provide valuable information about comets and our solar system […]
Ten years ago, the European Space Agency launched the Rosetta probe tasked to orbit a comet for the very first time and study it up close with unprecedented detail. Six billion miles later, the probe reached its target, the four-kilometer wide 67P comet, and has beamed back some of the most breathtaking images of a […]
This oddball cosmic body, called P/2013 P5, has puzzled astronomers for a while. By mass and orbit, it can only be classed as an asteroid, but the fact that it trails gas or dust would make it a comet. In fact, this weird rock has six tails, which would maybe make it a supercomet! Researchers at […]
For the first time, researchers have found evidence of a comet entering Earth’s atmosphere and exploding, obliterating everything in its path before ultimately crashing down into the Sahara. Comets and asteroids Many people will probably be asking themselves “Didn’t we find comet evidence on Earth before?”. No, not really – if you did wondeer that, […]
A recent study has revived an older controversy, after Dartmouth Professor Mukul Sharma and his team reported what they claim is the first conclusive evidence that links an extraterrestrial impact in Canada with the beginning of the Younger Dryas, a period of abrupt climate change that caused major cooling through the Earth. During this time, a number of species became […]
The current leading theory that explains the mass extinction of the dinosaurs – once the dominant group of animals on Earth for millions of years – states that an asteroid impact some 65 million years ago brought their demise, wiping them out along with 70% of all life on the planet. A new study, however, […]
This month the PAN-STARSS comet can be seen at its brightest, a truly rare event that can be witnessed in all its splendor in the skies around the world with simple magnifying tools such as binoculars. Some have reported they could see the comet with the naked eye, but if you plan on catching sight […]
Discovered last year by Russian astronomers Vitaly Nevsky and Artyom Novichonok, the gigantic ISON comet is set to make its appearance later this year as it approaches the sun when it will become visible to the naked eye during the day, and as bright as a full moon during the night. Astronomers estimate the comet […]
Discovered just last week by a Russian team at the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON), the comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is set to flyby less than two million miles away from the sun, unleashing a spectacle of light in the process at the end of 2013. Astronomers estimate, if it doesn’t desintegrate, that the comet […]
A moonless night might offer the best setting for the best view of the upcoming Lyrid meteor shower in years this very weekend. The best time to catch it on display will be on Saturday night, although the skyline fireball display is set to rage on well into the following morning. The Lyrids are somewhat […]
A recently published study suggests that the Earth might have been visited by a giant space rock 13,000 years ago, an event which might have sparked an unusual cold period in the planet’s climate history. The Younger Dryas, also known as the Big Freeze, was a brief period of cold climatic conditions and drought which occurred […]
NASA has developed a harpoon that would make even the most pretentious pirate jealous: it can latch on to comets with surgical precision, without having to land on them. The harpoon, which measures six feet tall (almost two meters) was made out of pair of springs normally used to provide the suspension for trucks; the […]
Black holes are perhaps the most fascinating and staggering objects in the known Universe, and we are just now beginning to uncover their secrets. Dr. Sergei Nayakshin of the University of Leicester and his team found that doughnut-shaped dust shrouds that cover about half of supermassive black holes may very well be the result of […]
