Comets

JWST Finds a Comet Still Holding Onto Water in the Main Asteroid Belt

Comets are instantly recognizable by their tails of gas and dust. Most comets originate in the far, frozen reaches of…

2 weeks ago

Here's How NASA is Planning to Protect Earth From Asteroids and Comets

The large impact craters dotting our planet are powerful reminders that asteroids and comets strike the Earth from time to…

1 month ago

Why Does ‘Oumuamua Follow Such a Bizarre Orbit? Hydrogen Outgassing

Nothing excites space enthusiasts like a good alien mystery. The interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua presented one as it moved through the…

2 months ago

Spectacular Images of the Rare ‘Green Comet’ Gracing Our Skies

A rare ‘green’ comet is passing through our Solar System and astrophotographers have been out capturing photos. While this comet,…

4 months ago

Comet Impacts Could Have Brought the Raw Ingredients for Life to Europa’s Ocean

Jupiter is the most-visited planet in the Solar System, thanks largely to NASA. It all started with Pioneer 10 and…

5 months ago

We Could Spread Life to the Milky Way With Comets. But Should We?

Here's a thorny problem: What if life doesn't always appear on planets that can support it? What if we find…

5 months ago

Comets Leave Dusty Trails That Surround the Solar System

Comets are messy things. They scatter bits of dust as they travel through the solar system. If Earth happens to…

6 months ago

Astronomers Watched a “Near-Sun” Comet Disintegrate as it Flew too Close to the Sun

Comets that venture close to the Sun can transform into something beautiful, but sometimes they encounter incineration if they get…

12 months ago

ESA Gives Green Light on its Comet Interceptor Mission

Comets, with their long, beautiful, bright tails of ice, are some of the most spectacular sightings in the night sky.…

12 months ago

Hubble Confirms Comet C/2014 UN271 is an Absolute Unit, Astronomically Speaking

It’s official. Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) has the largest nucleus ever seen in a comet. The gargantuan comet was discovered…

1 year ago