Tag Archive for 'Comet'

This illustration shows several comets speeding across a vast protoplanetary disk of gas and dust and heading straight for the youthful, central star HD 172555. These exocomets will eventually plunge into the star and vaporize. HD 172555 represents the third extrasolar system where astronomers have detected doomed, wayward comets. All of the systems are young, under 40 million years old. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Feild & G. Bacon, STScI.

Astronomers Detect Exocomets Falling into HD 172555

Jan 8, 2017 by News Staff

Exocomets are plunging into HD 172555, a nearby young star surrounded by a debris disk, according to a team of astronomers led by Carol Grady of NASA’s...

An artist’s rendition of 2016 WF9 as it passes Jupiter’s orbit inbound toward the Sun. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

NASA’s WISE Spacecraft Spots Two New Near-Earth Objects

Dec 30, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have discovered two celestial objects traveling through our neighborhood: 2016 WF9...

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko likely spent millions of years in the scattering disk, a distant portion of the Kuiper belt. Image credit: Mattia Galiazzo / Paul Wiegert.

Researchers Predict Possible Birthplace of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Oct 17, 2016 by News Staff

Using statistical analysis and computing, a duo of researchers at Western University in Canada has charted a path that likely pinpoints the origins of...

An artist’s illustration of a comet impact on Earth. Image credit: Don Davis / NASA.

Researchers: Comet Collided with Earth 55.6 Million Years Ago

Oct 14, 2016 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has found evidence that a comet hit the Earth at the same time a mysterious release of carbon...

Farewell, Rosetta! ESA’s Spacecraft Crashes into Comet

Sep 30, 2016 by News Staff

ESA’s Rosetta mission has concluded as planned, with the controlled impact onto Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. An artist’s impression of Rosetta...

Rosetta orbiting Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Image credit: ESA / AOES Medialab.

ESA’s Rosetta Orbiter to Crash Land into Comet: Watch Live

Sep 29, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Rosetta orbiting Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Image credit: ESA / AOES Medialab. ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft is set to complete its mission in a controlled...

This image captured by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 shows a dust-bathed cluster of fragments receding from the main nucleus of Comet 332P/Ikeya-Murakami at speeds in the range of 0.06 - 3.5 m/s. The nucleus of the comet is the bright object at lower left. This observation was made on January 27, 2016. Image credit: NASA / ESA / D. Jewitt, University of California at Los Angeles.

Hubble Images Reveal 332P/Ikeya-Murakami Disintegrating as It Approaches the Sun

Sep 19, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured one of the most detailed observations of a comet breaking apart. This image captured by Hubble’s Wide...

Rosetta NavCam image taken on 14 March 2015 at 85.7 km from the center of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko; it has been cleaned to remove the more obvious bad pixels and cosmic ray artefacts, and intensities have been scaled. Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / NAVCAM / CC BY-SA IGO 3.0.

Rosetta Finds Solid Organic Matter in Dust Particles from 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Sep 8, 2016 by News Staff

ESA’s Rosetta orbiter has made the first unambiguous detection of solid organic matter in dust grains ejected by comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This...

Close-up of the Philae comet lander, imaged by Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera on September 2 from a distance of 1.7 miles (2.7 km). Several of the lander’s instruments are identified, including one of the CIVA panoramic imaging cameras, the SD2 drill and SESAME-DIM (Surface Electric Sounding and Acoustic Monitoring Experiment Dust Impact Monitor). Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / OSIRIS Team / MPS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA.

Philae Comet Lander Finally Found

Sep 5, 2016 by News Staff

ESA’s Rosetta orbiter has spotted Philae hidden in a dark crack on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Philae has been identified in Rosetta’s...

This dramatic outburst from the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko occured on February 19, 2016. Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / MPS for OSIRIS Team / MPS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA.

ESA’s Rosetta Orbiter Captures Outburst from Nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Aug 25, 2016 by News Staff

In February 2016, nine instruments onboard ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft serendipitously observed an outburst of gas and dust from the Atum region on Comet...

The Rosetta spacecraft has detected ingredients considered important for life as we know it on Earth, in the atmosphere of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Image credit: ESA / ATG Medialab / Rosetta / NavCam / CC BY-SA IGO 3.0 / Kathrin Altwegg et al.

Rosetta Detects Two Ingredients for Life on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

May 27, 2016 by News Staff

ESA’s Rosetta orbiter has detected volatile glycine and phosphorus in the fuzzy atmosphere of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The Rosetta spacecraft...

Illustration of the debris disk surrounding the Sun-like star HD 181327. Image credit: Amanda Smith / University of Cambridge.

Astronomers Find Evidence for Comets in Debris Disk around Sun-Like Star

May 18, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) have detected very low levels of carbon monoxide gas in the debris disk around the nearby star...

This Hubble Space Telescope image of Comet 252P/LINEAR was photographed at 20:56 GMT on April 4, when the comet was 8.6 million miles from Earth. The visit was one of the closest encounters between this comet and our planet. This image was originally black and white and recorded only overall brightness. These brightness values were translated into a range of bluish hues. Such color ‘maps’ can be useful in helping to distinguish subtly varying brightness in an image. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J.-Y. Li, Planetary Science Institute.

Hubble Space Telescope Sees Comet 252P LINEAR

May 13, 2016 by News Staff

The Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has snapped photos of a periodic comet called 252P/LINEAR. This Hubble Space...

Artist’s impression of C/2014 S3 (PanSTARRS). The comet’s current long orbital period (approximately 860 years) suggests that its source is in the Oort Cloud -- a large region surrounding the Sun like a giant, thick soap bubble -- and it was nudged comparatively recently into an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Unique Rocky Comet from Oort Cloud May Provide Clues about Origin of Solar System

Apr 29, 2016 by News Staff

Observations of a tailless comet called C/2014 S3 (PanSTARRS), made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Canada France Hawaii Telescope, show that...

This image of an impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars was taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 30, 2015. The crater is approximately 3,300 feet (1-km) wide and appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta. The steep inner slopes are carved by gullies and include possible recurring slope lineae on the equator-facing slopes. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona / Alfred McEwen.

Comet, Asteroid Impacts 4 Billion Years Ago Likely Enhanced Life-Supporting Habitat on Mars

Apr 6, 2016 by News Staff

The bombardment of the Red Planet about 4 billion years ago (Noachian period) by giant comets and asteroids likely enhanced climate conditions enough to...

Scientist Links Earth’s Periodic Mass Extinctions to Planet Nine

Mar 31, 2016 by News Staff

According to Prof. Daniel P. Whitmire from the University of Arkansas, the suspected Planet Nine triggers comet showers linked to mass extinctions on Earth...

Saturn’s small moon Phoebe, depicted in this image, seems likely to be a centaur that was captured by the gas giant’s gravity at some time in the past. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Outer Solar System’s Massive Comets Could Pose Hazard to Civilization, Scientists Say

Dec 23, 2015 by News Staff

The discovery of hundreds of huge comets in the outer Solar System over the last 20 years means that these ancient objects pose a real hazard to our civilization,...

This image of 2015 TB145 was generated using radar data collected by the Arecibo Observatory. Image credit: NAIC-Arecibo / NSF.

2015 TB145: Astronomers Capture Radar Images of ‘Halloween Asteroid’

Nov 1, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using NSF’s 1,000-foot (305-m) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico have captured images of a massive asteroid – designated 2015 TB145...

Rosetta has made the first in situ detection of oxygen molecules outgassing from a comet; this surprising observation suggests they were incorporated into the comet during its formation. This infographic depicts various strands of evidence gathered for the study. Image credit: ESA / ATG medialab / Rosetta / NavCam / A. Bieler et al. / CC BY-SA IGO 3.0.

Molecular Oxygen Detected in Coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Oct 29, 2015 by News Staff

ESA’s Rosetta orbiter has detected molecules of oxygen in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Rosetta has made the first in situ detection...

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) on February 22, 2015. An international team of scientists has found more than twenty molecules in the comet, including ethyl alcohol and a simple sugar. Image credit: Fabrice Noel.

Astronomers Detect Ethyl Alcohol, Sugar in Atmosphere of Comet Lovejoy

Oct 26, 2015 by Natali Anderson

In a paper in the journal Science Advances, astronomers report the detection of 21 different organic molecules in gas from Comet Lovejoy, including the...

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