Tag Archive for 'Comet'

On October 12, 2019, Hubble observed the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov at a distance of approximately 261 million miles from Earth. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / D. Jewitt, University of California, Los Angeles.

Water Detected in Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

Nov 2, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers have detected the signature of vaporized water in the coma of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov, also known as C/2019 Q4. On October 12, 2019,...

Hubble Captures Sharpest Image Yet of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

Oct 16, 2019 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured an amazing new photo of 2I/Borisov, the first known interstellar comet ever identified. On October 12,...

This composite image, obtained by the Gemini North Multi-Object Spectrograph on the 8.2-m Gemini North telescope, shows the interstellar comet C/2019 Q4. Image credit: Gemini Observatory / NSF / AURA / Travis Rector.

Diatomic Carbon Detected in Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

Oct 13, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers have detected the emission from the small carbon chains C2 in the coma of 2I/Borisov, the first known interstellar comet to visit our Solar...

This image shows the Oort cloud comet C/2016 R2 (PANSTARRS). Image credit: ESO / SPECULOOS Team / E. Jehin.

ESO Releases Beautiful New Image of Comet C/2016 R2

Oct 9, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released an incredibly beautiful image of an Oort cloud comet called C/2016 R2 (PANSTARRS). The image was captured...

Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov Probably Came from Double Red Dwarf Kruger 60

Sep 30, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

A new study by astronomers from the A. Mickiewicz University and the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences suggests that the interstellar...

Astronomers Detect Cyanide Gas in Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

Sep 28, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers have for the first time detected cyanide (CN) gas — a common ingredient of solar system comets — in the coma of an interstellar...

Second-Known Interstellar Object Gets Official Name: 2I/Borisov

Sep 25, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

New observations and analysis of the recently-discovered comet C/2019 Q4 have confirmed its hyperbolic orbit and interstellar origin. Experts from the...

Astronomers Observe Interstellar Comet C/2019 Q4

Sep 16, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

Using several ground-based telescopes on La Palma and Hawaii, astronomers have observed C/2019 Q4, the first-known interstellar comet and the second-known...

Comet C/2019 Q4. Image credit: G. Borisov.

C/2019 Q4: Second Interstellar Object Spotted in Our Solar System

Sep 16, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers have spotted what they believe is the second object of interstellar origin ever observed in the Solar System. Comet C/2019 Q4. Image credit:...

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and Churymoon (circled). Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / MPS / OSIRIS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA / J. Roger.

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Had Tiny, Temporary Moon

Aug 14, 2019 by News Staff

Astrophotographer Jacint Roger has spotted a small object in a sequence of images of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko taken by ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft on October...

A microtektite from the shell bed of southwestern Florida. Image credit: Meyer et al, doi: 10.1111/maps.13299.

Researchers Find 2-3-Million-Year-Old Microtektites inside Fossil Clams

Jul 23, 2019 by News Staff

Fossil clams found in southwestern Florida contain ancient microtektites, tiny (about 200 μm in diameter) glass beads that form when the explosive impact...

This artist’s impression shows the first interstellar asteroid -- 1I/2017 U1 (’Oumuamua). Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua Has Purely Natural Origin, Say Astronomers

Jul 2, 2019 by News Staff

A fast moving, cigar-shaped object of extrasolar origin was discovered on October 19, 2017 by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawai’i. Named 1I/2017 U1...

Hubble captured this view of comet 46P/Wirtanen on December 13, 2018. Image credit: NASA / ESA / D. Bodewits, Auburn University / J.-Y. Li, Planetary Science Institute.

Hyperactive Comets Contain ‘Ocean-Like’ Water

May 31, 2019 by News Staff

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) observed the hyperactive Jupiter-family comet 46P/Wirtanen as it made its closest approach...

This image shows Tutankhamun's pectoral with a scarab carved from the Libyan Desert Glass. Image credit: Jon Bodsworth.

Study Sheds New Light on Origin of Libyan Desert Glass

May 21, 2019 by News Staff

Libyan desert glass is a natural glass found in western Egypt that formed 29 million years ago, however its origin is disputed: the two main formation...

This artist’s impression shows exocomets orbiting beta Pictoris. Image credit: L. Calçada / ESO.

TESS Detects Exocomets in Beta Pictoris System

May 20, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite (TESS) has spotted the long tails of extrasolar comets orbiting the very young star beta Pictoris. This...

These 210 images reflect Rosetta’s ever-changing view of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko between July 2014 and September 2016. The sequence begins in the month leading up to Rosetta’s arrival on August 6, 2014, when the comet was barely a few pixels in the field of view. Suddenly, the curious shape was revealed and Rosetta raced to image its surface, coming within 10 km, to find a suitable place for Philae to land just three months later. Philae’s landing is featured with the ‘farewell’ images taken by both spacecraft of each other shortly after separation, and by Philae as it drew closer to the surface at its first touchdown point. An image taken at the final landing site is also shown. The subsequent images, taken by Rosetta, reflect the varying distance from the comet as well as the comet’s rise and fall in activity as they orbited the Sun. Before the comet reached its most active phase in August 2015, Rosetta was able to make some close flybys, including one in which the lighting geometry from the Sun was such that the spacecraft’s shadow could be seen on the surface. Then, owing to the increase of dust in the local environment, Rosetta had to maintain a safer distance and carry out scientific observations from afar, but this also gave some impressive views of the comet’s global activity, including jets and outburst events. Once the activity began to subside, Rosetta could come closer again and conduct science nearer to the nucleus, including capturing more high-resolution images of the surface, and looking out for changes after this active period. Eventually, as the comet returned to the colder outer Solar System, so the available solar power to operate Rosetta fell. The mission concluded with Rosetta making its own dramatic descent to the surface on September 30, 2016. A selection of the final images taken are reflected in the last images shown in this montage. Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / NavCam / MPS for OSIRIS Team / MPS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA / Philae / CIVA / ROLIS / DLR.

OSIRIS Team Releases Nearly 70,000 Images of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Apr 18, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

Between 2014 and 2016, the OSIRIS (Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System) camera onboard ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft captured almost...

An illustration showing how a sliver of cometary building block material was swallowed by an asteroid and preserved inside a meteorite. Image credit: Larry Nittler / NASA.

Scientists Find Cometary Fragment in Primitive Asteroidal Meteorite

Apr 16, 2019 by News Staff

A cometary building block has been discovered inside the LaPaz Icefield (LAP) 02342, a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite found in Antarctica in the 2000s. An...

The Chicxulub impact 66 million years ago generated a tsunami-like wave in an inland sea that killed and buried fish, mammals, insects and a Triceratops, the first victims of a cataclysm that led to Earth’s last mass extinction. Image credit: Robert DePalma.

66-Million-Year-Old Fossil Site Preserves Animals Killed within Minutes of Chicxulub Impact

Apr 3, 2019 by News Staff

At a site dubbed Tanis in North Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation, paleontologists have unearthed an assemblage of exquisitely-preserved fossilized organisms...

This artist’s impression shows ‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar object discovered in our Solar System. Recent observations show that the object is moving faster than predicted while leaving the Solar System. Astronomers assume that venting material from its surface due to solar heating is responsible for this behavior. This outgassing can be seen in this artist’s impression as a subtle cloud being ejected from the side of the object facing the Sun. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / ESO / M. Kornmesser.

Oumuamua is Interstellar Comet with Odd Properties, Astronomers Say

Mar 13, 2019 by News Staff

‘Oumuamua, a recently discovered object of extrasolar origin, is a comet that rocks, according to a new study by astronomers at Yale University and Caltech. This...

An artist’s impression of the infant bow shock detected by ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Image credit: ESA.

Rosetta Detects Signs of Infant ‘Bow Shock’ at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Dec 26, 2018 by News Staff

The ‘bow shock’ is the first boundary the solar wind encounters as it approaches planets or comets. From 2014 to 2016, ESA’s Rosetta orbiter studied...

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