For the second time in its mission so far, the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has flown through the tail of a comet. Predicted in advance by astronomers at University College London, UK, the spacecraft collected a wealth ...
Space Exploration
Jan 26, 2022
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89
Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory evaluate early data the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft sent back to Earth as it observes comet Leonard, a mass of space dust, rock and ice just over half a mile across (1 ...
Planetary Sciences
Dec 28, 2021
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112
When Comet Leonard, a mass of space dust, rock and ice about a half-mile (1 kilometer) wide, makes its closest pass of the Sun on Jan. 3, 2022, it will be a journey 40,000 years in the making. Ahead of its close pass, two ...
Space Exploration
Dec 21, 2021
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990
Every so often, the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud throw galactic snowballs made up of ice, dust and rocks our way: 4.6-billion-year-old leftovers from the formation of the solar system.
Astronomy
Dec 20, 2021
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1220
Now is the best time to get a glimpse of Comet C/2021 A1, better known as Comet Leonard. It's named for its discoverer, Gregory Leonard, a senior research specialist at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.
Astronomy
Dec 14, 2021
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1042
A new study by University of Maryland astronomers shows that comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein (BB), the largest comet ever discovered, was active long before previously thought, meaning the ice within it is vaporizing and forming ...
Astronomy
Nov 29, 2021
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13247
Now is the time to start tracking Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard, as it starts its dawn dive sunward.
Astronomy
Nov 29, 2021
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117
Sofia Bergman, Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) and Umeå University, will defend her doctoral thesis on low-energy ions around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 26 November. Observing low energy ions is notoriously ...
Astronomy
Nov 24, 2021
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59
Comets are icy and dusty snowballs of material that have remained relatively unchanged since they first formed billions of years ago. Studying the small bodies provides clues about the formation of the solar system.
Condensed Matter
Nov 3, 2021
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269
Amateur and professional astronomers have found that the comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann has been experiencing an unusually large outburst recently. Normally, it has little outbursts spread throughout the year.
