comet

Hubble Confirms Largest Comet Nucleus Ever Seen0
- From Around the Web, Space
- May 13, 2022
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has determined the size of the largest icy comet nucleus ever seen by astronomers. The estimated diameter is approximately 80 miles across, making it larger than the state of Rhode Island. The nucleus is about 50 times larger than found at the heart of most known comets. Its mass is estimated to be a staggering 500 trillion tons, a hundred thousand times greater than the mass of a typical comet found much closer to the Sun.

By David Aragorn
Mega Comet Arriving From the Oort Cloud Is 85 Miles Wide0
- From Around the Web, Space
- March 4, 2022
Bernardinelli-Bernstein is officially the largest comet ever discovered, according to updated observations of the inbound object.

By David Aragorn
COMET PLUNGES INTO THE SUN 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- November 27, 2018
Subtract one from the Solar System’s total count of comets.

By David Aragorn
A GREEN COMET APPROACHES EARTH 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 27, 2018
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is approaching Earth. On Sept. 10th, it will be 0.39 AU (58 million km) from our planet and almost bright enough to see with the naked eye. Already it is an easy target for backyard telescopes. Last night, Michael Jäger of Weißenkirchen, Austria, caught the 7.7th magnitude comet passing through star cluster Tombaugh

By David Aragorn
NASA’s Planet-hunting TESS catches a comet before starting science 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 15, 2018
Before NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) started science operations on July 25, 2018, the planet hunter sent back a stunning sequence of serendipitous images showing the motion of a comet. Taken over the course of 17 hours on July 25, these TESS images helped demonstrate the satellite’s ability to collect a prolonged set of stable periodic images covering a broad region of the sky — all critical factors in finding transiting planets orbiting nearby stars.

By David Aragorn
TESS Spots Comet C/2018 N1 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- August 8, 2018
Before NASA’s newest planet-hunter TESS started science operations on July 25, the spacecraft sent back a series of images showing the motion of C/2018 N1, a comet recently discovered by the agency’s NEOWISE satellite.

By David Aragorn
ESO’s VLT Sees `Oumuamua Getting a Boost 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- June 28, 2018
New results indicate interstellar nomad `Oumuamua is a comet

By David Aragorn
Frozen Comet Fart (Actually a Jet) Caught on Camera 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- October 28, 2017
It looks like Rosetta’s comet was a bit of a tooter. A fart from the comet — which scientists called “a bright plume of dust blowing away … like a fountain” — likely originated from the comet’s insides, maybe from ancient gas vents or unseen ice.

By David Aragorn
AN UNUSUAL COMET DIVES TOWARD THE SUN 0
- From Around the Web, Space
- October 26, 2017
Deep inside the orbit of Mercury, unusual comet 96P/Machholz is diving toward the sun today.

By David Aragorn
Local scientist leads team that finds evidence of possible comet impact 0
- Ancient Archeology, From Around the Web
- September 26, 2017
A team of researchers led by an archaeologist from Aiken has found widespread evidence that a large object from outer space, such as a comet or an asteroid, hit the Earth about 12,800 years ago.

By David Aragorn