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.
Astronomy
Jul 13, 2022
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1012
Nitriles, a class of organic molecules with a cyano group—that is, a carbon atom bound with a triple unsaturated bond to a nitrogen atom—are typically toxic. But paradoxically, they are also a key precursor for molecules ...
Astronomy
Jul 8, 2022
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641
A team of researchers led by the University of Bern has for the first time identified an unexpected richness of complex organic molecules at a comet. This was achieved thanks to the analysis of data collected during ESA's ...
Astronomy
Jul 5, 2022
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64
Astronomers using a fleet of world leading telescopes on the ground and in space have captured images of a periodic rocky near-sun comet breaking apart. This is the first time such a comet has been caught in the act of disintegrating ...
Astronomy
Jun 15, 2022
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571
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 ...
Space Exploration
Jun 9, 2022
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41
Today, ESA and the Zooniverse launch Rosetta Zoo, a citizen science project that invites volunteers to engage in a cosmic game of "spot the difference." By browsing through pictures collected by ESA's Rosetta mission, you ...
Astronomy
May 6, 2022
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66
Researchers from Finland, Canada, and Russia have discovered an unusual, hourglass-shaped dust trail of the comet 17P/Holmes. The particles that formed the dust trail were released by the most powerful of the thus-far documented ...
Astronomy
May 4, 2022
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81
For the past 30 years, the star β Pictoris has fascinated astronomers because it enables them to observe a planetary system in the process of formation. It is made up of at least two young planets, and also contains comets, ...
Astronomy
Apr 28, 2022
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198
Powerful radar systems have played a major role in the study of planets, moons, asteroids, and other objects in our Solar System for several decades, and now have a "unique role" to play in planetary defense—"providing ...
Astronomy
Apr 20, 2022
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10
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 17, 2022
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