Tag

Comets

All articles tagged with #comets

science-and-tech16 days ago•23 min saved

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Points to a Cosmos Older Than the Solar System

New observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS from JWST and other telescopes confirm its interstellar origin and reveal chemical fingerprints—a red, cosmic-ray–processed surface; unusually high deuterium abundance and a carbon-12 to carbon-13 ratio far lower than Solar System values—that point to formation in a cold, primitive environment long before our Solar System, making 3I/ATLAS billions of years older than the Sun; its orbit alone cannot determine its age.

via Big Think|

#astronomy #comets #deuterium

space18 days ago•3 min saved

Ancient Interstellar Visitor 3I/Atlas May Be the Solar System’s Oldest Object

Astronomers say the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas could be as old as 12 billion years, potentially the oldest object observed in our solar system. Isotopic data from the JWST and ALMA show an unusually high deuterium content and formation in an extremely cold environment, suggesting an origin outside the solar system; NASA says there’s no evidence of extraterrestrial technology. Future observations with the Rubin Observatory are expected to reveal more interstellar visitors.

via The Guardian|

#astronomy #comets #interstellar-objects

science2 months ago•2 min saved

Ancient Oort Cloud Visitor C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS Graces the Night Sky

A newly spotted long-period comet, C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS, likely from the Oort Cloud, has been visible for weeks in the northern hemisphere and is not expected to return for about 170,000 years. Its fleeting appearance offers a rare glimpse of the solar system’s earliest materials, helping scientists study planetesimals and the building blocks that may have seeded Earth, before gravitational forces potentially eject it from the system.

via Futurism|

#astronomy #c2025-r3-panstarrs #comets

space2 months ago•8 min saved

Helix Nebula: dying Sun, dusty disk, and surviving comets

NASA's Spitzer infrared image captures the Helix nebula, a 700 light-years away planetary nebula—the glowing shell of a sun-like star—with a central white dwarf and a dusty disk likely kicked up by comets that survived the star's death; the finding shows how comets can endure and be redistributed as stars end their lives, and notes that our Sun will form a similar nebula in about five billion years.

via Boing Boing|

#astronomy #comets #helix-nebula

space2 months ago•65 min saved

Cosmic cameo: Fireball crosses path with Comet PanSTARRS over Czech castle

Photographers captured a rare time‑lapse of a bright fireball meteor streaking in front of Comet PanSTARRS above Kunětická Hora Castle in the Czech Republic on April 18, reportedly tied to an asteroid explosion over Belarus; PanSTARRS reached perihelion around April 19 and was one of 2026’s most visible comets, making for a striking celestial coincidence.

via Live Science|

#astronomy #comets #fireball

space3 months ago•68 min saved

MAPS the Sungrazer meets its fiery end in the Sun’s glare

Live Science reports that comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS), a Kreutz sungrazer, did not survive its close pass with the Sun. Space-based observations show MAPS disintegrating into a cloud of debris and a ghostly tail after reaching perihelion about 100,000 miles from the solar surface, leaving no visible body behind.

via Live Science|

#comets #maps #perihelion

space3 months ago•66 min saved

Comet PanSTARRS Could Shine Bright Enough to See Naked Eye This Month

Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) is brightening in April and could become visible to the naked eye in the predawn sky this month, potentially reaching around magnitude 4 as it nears perihelion on April 20 and Earth on April 27. For Northern Hemisphere viewers, it will pass near the Great Square of Pegasus and drift toward Pisces from mid‑April, with a new Moon on April 17 helping dark skies; however visibility is uncertain and depends on the comet’s activity, so binoculars may be needed for a good glimpse.

via Live Science|

#astronomy #comets #night-sky

space3 months ago•73 min saved

April 2026 Stargazing Gear Guide: Cameras, Binoculars, and Telescopes for Lyrids and Comets

Live Science’s April 2026 stargazing gear guide suggests the best cameras, binoculars, and telescopes to enjoy this month’s sky events, including the Full Pink Moon, the Lyrid meteor shower, and two bright comets (C/2026 A1 MAPS and C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS). It highlights a dark-sky window around the new moon on April 17 for deep-sky observing and astro-photography, and offers practical gear picks and tips for lunar, planetary, and galaxy observing.

via Live Science|

#astronomy #comets #lyrids

space3 months ago•74 min saved

Hubble records comet’s spin flip as jets reverse its rotation

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope tracked comet 41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresák and observed its rotation reverse due to jets of gas and dust, with the spin slowing between 2017 observations and then flipping to a much faster rate (about 14 hours) by December 2017. Scientist David Jewitt explains that uneven jets act like tiny thrusters, reversing the comet’s spin, an unprecedented finding that may signal structural changes or breakup; the results were published in The Astronomical Journal.

via Space|

#41ptuttle-giacobini-kresak #comets #hubble-space-telescope

space3 months ago•3 min saved

Hubble Documents a Comet's Breakup, Revealing Pristine Solar System Clues

Hubble observed C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) break into four fragments just days after perihelion, yielding unusually pristine material to study comet composition and surface physics; observations were conducted Nov 8–20, 2025, when the object was about 250 million miles from Earth.

via Futurism|

#astronomy #comets #hubble-space-telescope

space3 months ago•3 min saved

Hubble Snaps Comet K1 Breaking Apart Near the Sun

The Hubble Space Telescope happened to observe long-period comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) as it fractured into four pieces near its perihelion, capturing a rare three-day sequence that offers insights into how comets break apart and what lies beneath their surfaces.

via Gizmodo|

#c2025-k1-atlas #comets #fragmentation

science4 months ago•3 min saved

Comet MAPS Could Light Up Twilight If It Survives Solar Pass

Comet MAPS (C/2026 A1), a Kreutz sungrazer discovered in Chile, is heading for its perihelion near the Sun on April 4 at about 99,000 miles (160,000 km) away. It could be torn apart by solar heat and gravity, but if it survives it could glow as brightly as Venus in twilight; however, viewing will be tricky—best about 30 minutes after sunset, with the Northern Hemisphere facing limited visibility and a long tail potentially visible for several days.

via Gizmodo|

#astronomy #comets #naked-eye-visibility

space4 months ago•4 min saved

3I/Atlas Reveals Methanol-Rich Signature as It Leaves the Solar System

Observations of interstellar comet 3I/Atlas show its coma is unusually rich in methanol—up to four times typical levels—along with carbon dioxide and other organics, suggesting formation in a colder or chemically distinct environment. The study, based on ALMA data, indicates methanol (and other gases) may be released from both the nucleus and sublimating icy grains in a hyperactive comet, supporting a natural origin. As it travels away from the Sun at about 60 km/s, 3I/Atlas reinforces that more interstellar visitors are likely to be found with advancing detection capability.

via WIRED|

#alma #astrochemistry #comets

space-and-spaceflight4 months ago•15 min saved

JUICE Captures 120 Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/Atlas as It Recedes

ESA’s JUICE mission photographed interstellar comet 3I/Atlas in more than 120 JANUS images on November 6, 2025, a week after its closest approach to the Sun. The shots show a bright coma and a long tail, and scientists are analyzing the data (with results expected in late March). 3I/Atlas, discovered June 2025 by ATLAS, is only the third known interstellar visitor, and as it drifts away from the Sun, JUICE continues its deep-space observations on its way to Jupiter (arrival in 2031).

via Gizmodo|

#comets #esa #interstellar-objects

space4 months ago•50 min saved

Comet Wierzchos Nears Earth on Feb. 17 — A Tough Telescopic Look

Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) will pass about 94 million miles (151 million km) from Earth on February 17, its closest approach yet; at magnitude around +8.2 it won’t be visible to the naked eye, but may be spotted with binoculars under dark skies. For U.S. viewers, it will sit low in the southwestern sky at sunset in the southern Grus constellation before fading as it moves away from the Sun. The comet brightened after its January 20 perihelion near the Sun, but is expected to dim over the coming weeks as it recedes farther from Earth.

via Space|

#astronomy #comets #perigee