Comets
The 2015 Lyrid Meteors Peak Tomorrow Night!
April showers bring May flowers, and this month also brings a shower of the celestial variety, as the Lyrid meteors…
Help Researchers Track Comet 67/P Through Perihelion
Calling all light-bucket scope owners: the folks at the European Space Agency want to enlist you in the quest to…
First Attempt to Contact Hibernating Philae Lander Will Be March 12
Where is the Philae lander and will it wake up again? Those are the questions the team at the DLR…
Dust Whirls, Swirls and Twirls at Rosetta’s Comet
Tell me this montage shouldn't be hanging in the Lourve Museum. Every time I think I've seen the "best image"…
Kamikaze Comet Loses its Head
Like coins, most comet have both heads and tails. Occasionally, during a close passage of the Sun, a comet's head will…
Dark Energy Camera Takes Accidental Gigantic, Magnificent Picture of Comet Lovejoy
Oops! In a happy accident, Comet Lovejoy just happened to be in the field of view of the 570-megapixel Dark…
A New Sungrazing Comet May Brighten in the Evening Sky, Here’s How to See It
A newly-discovered comet may soon become bright enough to see from a sky near you. Originally dubbed SOHO-2875, it was spotted…
A Star Passed Through the Solar System Just 70,000 Years Ago
Astronomers have reported the discovery of a star that passed within the outer reaches of our Solar System just 70,000…
The First Images Are In from Rosetta’s Valentine’s Day Comet Flyby
On Saturday, Feb. 14, the Rosetta spacecraft swooped low over the surface of comet 67P/C-G in the first dedicated close pass…
Rosetta’s Comet Really “Blows Up” in Latest Images
First off: no, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is not about to explode or disintegrate. But as it steadily gets nearer to the Sun the…