comet

As Dawn Spacecraft Approaches, A Second Bright Light Emerges from Ceres

To better answer Piazzi’s original questions, and some new ones that have arisen in the more than two centuries since it was first discovered, researchers with NASA developed the Dawn Spacecraft mission which was originally launched in 2007. After a successful 14-month-orbit around Vesta in the asteroid belt, Dawn is now moving onto the next dwarf planet and will arrive to Ceres within the next week. And the first question that the Dawn mission would like to answer is a glaring one, visible on the surface.

So Long Lovejoy, See You in 8,000 Years

After putting on quite a show in the night sky that delighted astronomers of all ages across the world, it is finally time to bid farewell to the comet Lovejoy. This past Saturday night was the last time that sky-watching enthusiasts had the opportunity to witness Comet Lovejoy with the naked eye, and there won't be another chance to catch this unique comet for the next 8,000 years.

Comet Awakes As It Approaches the Sun

Do you remember that comet we landed on last year? It seems this comet has unexpectedly become more active showing signs of "waking up" as it zooms towards the sun at almost 47,800 miles per hour.

"Spin, Spin, Spinning Around": A New Method On How We Measure Stars

Stars litter our skies with celestial light, continually cementing the fact that our planet, no matter how large it may seem, is just a grain of sand on the beach that is our shared universe. And, for years, astronomers have gauged a star's age by how brightly it shined. While this is moderately effective, another method has been tested-and-proven to be more accurate. Published in the newest issue of the journal Nature, astronomer's note that how quickly a star spins is the ideal metric to determining its age.

Newly Found Comet Dazzles Observers

A newly discovered comet is dazzling observers and amateur astronomers across the world, with its unique green color and blue tail. The new comet, found in August and named for its founder, Terry Lovejoy, will soon fade from viewing and won't return to our solar neighborhood for 10,000 years.

Eons After the Big Bang, and 80 Years After It Was Proposed, Dark Matter Takes Form in Andromeda

For decades now, researchers have long believed that the ever-elusive dark matter has comprised roughly 80 percent of the entire universe’s mass. But in spite of advancing technology, taking astronomers past the moon to far off comets/planets and back, researchers have not yet been able to identify the existence of dark matter in our galaxy or any other, and have not yet been able to isolate the hypothetical invisible particles in Earth labs either. But in what appears to be a strange X-ray emission from nearby galactic clusters, two independent European research teams believe that they may have found the first true dark matter known to man—and it’s not too far away either.

Comet 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko Reveals Origins of Water May Not be From Comets

After an arduous ten year journey throughout some tough terrain of space, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta mission set records this past summer for being the first spacecraft to orbit a comet in mid-flight. And while many expected the mission to reveal a bit more insight into the behavior and composition of comets from the outer edges of our solar system, no one expected to learn exactly how Earth came to be so unique and the perfect host to life, only three planets away from our sun.

As Time Runs Out for Philae, ESA Gathers Data

It’s a $1.62 billion mission who’s fighting against the clock. For more than a decade now, researchers have been hoping that the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta Mission would give them a better understand and an unseen view of what lies beneath the surface of a comet. And now that they’re there, they fear that time is not on their side.

Philae Lander Takes a Nap, As ESA Fights Against the Clock

It’s been a 310 million mile journey from the Earth to its destination Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, so what does the famed Philae lander probe do once it’s made history by being the first to touch down on the surface of a speeding comet? The answer may surprise you.

Comet Siding Spring Captured by ISRO’s Mars Orbiter

In a week when all eyes are set to space, and all questions in the social sphere revolve around the topic of comets, India’s Space Agency ISRO doesn’t want to be counted out of the mix. And while they may not be putting a lander on a speeding comet, or orbiting one like Europe’s space agency (the ESA), ISRO was able to catch its own glimpse of one last month and has taken to the web with a new view of a cosmic passerby.

Siding Springs Comet Came in Close For a Martian Meteor Shower

Earlier last month, on Oct. 19, researchers from the world’s top space agencies were able to catch a glimpse at one of the rarest sights in space. Coming from the outer Oort Cloud, at the very edge of our solar system, young comet Siding Spring passed by Mars rather closely on its first orbit around the sun; giving Mars orbiters a show and quite a scare. But as it turns out new data collected from NASA’s satellites on the night of the event show that the best view may have in fact been from the red planet itself.

ESA Ready to Give Rosetta’s Philae the Green Light

It’s been a mission ten years in the making, and after a final green light from mission control tonight, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta Mission will deploy its handy little lander named “Philae” onto the surface of the far off Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko it met up with earlier this summer.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Most Popular

Recommended Stories

Real Time Analytics