comet

Rosetta Watches Comet 67P Tumbling Through Space

This is really getting exciting! ESA's Rosetta spacecraft (and the piggybacked Philae lander) are in the home stretch to arrive at Comet…

10 years ago

How Big is Rosetta’s Comet?

Pretty darn big, I'd say. The illustration above shows the relative scale of the comet that ESA's Rosetta and Philae…

10 years ago

Rosetta Detects Water on its Target Comet

It's no surprise that there is a lot of water in comets. The "dirty snowballs" (or dusty ice-balls, more accurately)…

11 years ago

How to See 209P/LINEAR, the Comet Brewing Up Saturday’s Surprise Meteor Shower

As we anxiously await the arrival of a potentially rich new meteor shower this weekend, its parent comet, 209P/LINEAR, draws…

11 years ago

Asteroid 2013 UQ4 Suddenly Becomes a Dark Comet with a Bright Future

On October 23, 2013,  astronomers with the Catalina Sky Survey picked up a very faint asteroid with an unusual orbit more…

11 years ago

May Meteor Storm Alert: All Eyes on the Sky!

On Friday night/early Saturday May 23-24 skywatchers across the U.S. and southern Canada may witness the birth of a brand new meteor shower.  If predictions…

11 years ago

Take a Look: Comet PANSTARRS K1 Swings by the Big Dipper this Week, Sprouts Second Tail

Comets often play hard to get. That's why we enjoy those rare opportunities when they pass close to naked eye stars. For…

11 years ago

Rosetta’s Philae Lander Snaps a Selfie

Philae is awake... and taking pictures! This image, acquired last night with the lander's CIVA (Comet nucleus Infrared and Visible…

11 years ago

Comet Jacques Brightens Rapidly, Heads North

We've got a hot comet on our hands. Comet Jacques barely cracked magnitude +11 at the time of its March 13…

11 years ago

Fly to Rosetta’s Comet with this New Interactive Visualization

Hang onto your space helmets.  With a few moves of the mouse, you can now follow the European Rosetta mission…

11 years ago