Search results for oort cloud

Planetary Sciences Aug 24, 2022

Scientists have traced Earth's path through the galaxy via tiny crystals found in its crust

"To see a world in a grain of sand," the opening sentence of the poem by William Blake, is an oft-used phrase that also captures some of what geologists do.

Astronomy Aug 19, 2022

After 45 years, the 5-billion-year legacy of the Voyager 2 interstellar probe is just beginning

On August 20 1977, 45 years ago, an extraordinary spacecraft left this planet on a journey like no other. Voyager 2 was going to show us, for the first time, what the outer solar system planets looked like close-up. It was ...

Astronomy Aug 1, 2022

Stellar flybys leave a permanent mark on newly forming planetary systems

What do UX Tauri, RW Aurigae, AS 205, Z CMajoris, and FU Orionis have in common? They're young stellar systems with disks where planets could form. It appears those disks were disturbed by stellar flybys or other close encounters ...

Astronomy Jul 13, 2022

K2, the brightest comet in our solar system, will swing by Earth this week: Here's when to see it

Grab your binoculars: A comet that has fascinated scientists for five years approaches its closest distance from Earth this week—and you might be able to catch a glimpse.

Space Exploration Jun 9, 2022

Comet Interceptor approved for construction

ESA's Comet Interceptor mission to visit a pristine comet or other interstellar object just starting its journey into the inner solar system has been "adopted" this week; the study phase is complete and, following selection ...

Astronomy Jun 2, 2022

Close encounter more than 10,000 years ago stirred up spirals in accretion disk

Dr. Lu Xing, an associate researcher from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with collaborators from Yunnan University, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, ...

Astronomy May 26, 2022

Researcher describes how extraterrestrial civilizations could colonize the galaxy even if they don't have starships

Astronomers have searched for extraterrestrial civilizations in planetary systems for sixty years, to no avail. In the paper published by International Journal of Astrobiology, Cambridge University Press, and titled "Migrating ...

Astronomy May 16, 2022

Extraterrestrial stone brings first supernova clues to Earth

New chemistry "forensics" indicate that the stone named Hypatia from the Egyptian desert could be the first tangible evidence found on Earth of a supernova type Ia explosion. These rare supernovas are some of the most energetic ...

Astronomy Apr 17, 2022

Astronomers confirm size of largest comet ever discovered, bigger than Rhode Island

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Telescope have confirmed the existence the largest comet ever discovered, and it will pass by our sun in the next decade.

Astronomy Apr 12, 2022

4 billion-year-old relic from early solar system heading our way

An enormous comet—approximately 80 miles across, more than twice the width of Rhode Island—is heading our way at 22,000 miles per hour from the edge of the solar system. Fortunately, it will never get closer than 1 billion ...

page 6 from 26