Tag

Oort Cloud

All articles tagged with #oort cloud

science16 days 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

space17 days ago•34 min saved

Distant Solar System Visitor Illuminates Our Origins

Astronomers say comet C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS — a long-period visitor likely from the Oort Cloud — has been visible in the northern hemisphere for weeks, offering a rare glimpse at material from the solar system's birth. With such comets taking extremely elongated orbits, this one may not return for around 170,000 years, making its current pass a unique opportunity to study early solar-system building blocks and clues about how planets formed, as gravitational interactions could eventually eject it from the system.

via Yahoo|

#astronomy #comet #oort-cloud

space2 months ago•75 min saved

Hubble snapshots real-time breakup of distant comet C/2025 K1 ATLAS

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured, in real time, the fragmentation of the long‑period comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) after its near‑Sun passage, identifying at least four fragments over three days (Nov. 8–10, 2025) with one fragment fragmenting again; breakup began about a week earlier as heating and stress from perihelion likely exposed dust layers. K1, ~8 km across and from the distant Oort Cloud, was discovered by ATLAS in May 2025. The observations, described in a 2026 Icarus paper, offer rare insight into the physics of comet surfaces and dust production during disintegration.

via Space|

#c2025-k1-atlas #comet-fragmentation #hubble-space-telescope

space3 months ago•74 min saved

ATLAS Comet Splits into Fragments After Near-Sun Flyby, New Telescope Images Show

Two images from Gemini North, taken on Nov. 11 and Dec. 6, 2025, show Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) breaking into multiple fragments after its October close approach to the Sun, with astronomers noting about three to four pieces—consistent with a fragile, ice-dust nucleus likely originating from the Oort Cloud.

via Space|

#c2025-k1-atlas #comets #fragmentation

science6 months ago•6 min saved

Human-Made Object to Reach One Light-Day from Earth in 2026

Voyager 1 will become the first human-made object to reach a distance of one light-day from Earth on November 13, 2026, traveling through interstellar space after over 45 years since launch, highlighting the vastness of space and the speed of light.

via IFLScience|

#interstellar-space #light-day #oort-cloud

science7 months ago•3 min saved

Rare Green Comet and Lemmon Approaches: Your Guide to October's Celestial Show

South Carolinians have a rare opportunity to see the green Comet Lemmon, visible in the night sky on October 21-22 for the first time in 1,350 years, along with other celestial events like the Orionids meteor shower and the Andromeda Galaxy, with tips for optimal viewing away from city lights.

via Post and Courier|

#andromeda-galaxy #comet-lemmon #oort-cloud

science7 months ago•5 min saved

Astronomers Discover Largest Oort Cloud Comet Ever

Astronomers have discovered that the largest Oort Cloud comet, C 2014 UN271, is active far from the Sun, venting carbon monoxide gas at over a billion miles away, challenging previous assumptions about comet dormancy in the outer solar system. Using ALMA, they observed jets and activity driven by volatile ices, providing new insights into comet evolution and the early solar system materials. The comet will approach the Sun in 2031, offering opportunities to study how its activity changes as it warms.

via Earth.com|

#alma #c-2014-un271 #comet

science9 months ago•1 min saved

Voyager-1's Journey Out of the Solar System: 300 or 30,000 Years?

Voyager 1, traveling at about 3.6 AU per year, will take roughly 28,000 to 30,000 years to exit the outer edge of the Oort Cloud, depending on its exact distance, which is estimated to be between 1,000 and 100,000 AU from the Sun.

via WION|

#interstellar-space #oort-cloud #science

science10 months ago•3 min saved

First Molecular Jet Detected on Giant Comet Nearing Inner Solar System

Astronomers using ALMA have observed for the first time a molecular jet of carbon monoxide emanating from the giant comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein, which is about 140 km wide and located over 1.5 billion miles from the Sun. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about comet activity in the outer solar system and provides new insights into the behavior of distant celestial bodies from the Oort Cloud, especially as it approaches the Sun in 2031.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#bernardinelli-bernstein #comet #molecular-jets

science11 months ago•5 min saved

Revolutionary Propulsion Tech Could Enable a Mission to Sedna in a Decade

A new study suggests that a direct fusion drive could enable a spacecraft to reach Sedna within 10 years, offering a rare opportunity to study a distant Oort cloud object before it moves away, with mission proposals potentially launching around 2030.

via IFLScience|

#fusion-drive #interstellar-mission #oort-cloud

science11 months ago•3 min saved

Largest Oort Cloud Comet Exhibits Unexpected Activity at 2 Billion Miles

Astronomers using ALMA have discovered that the largest Oort Cloud comet, C/2014 UN271, is actively erupting with jets of carbon monoxide gas, providing new insights into the chemistry and activity of icy bodies at the solar system's edge.

via Space|

#alma #c2014-un271 #comet

science11 months ago•3 min saved

Giant Oort Cloud Comet Reveals Surprising Activity in Deep Space

Astronomers have discovered the first direct evidence of molecular activity in the massive, distant comet C/2014 UN271 in the Oort Cloud, revealing explosive outgassing patterns and providing new insights into the early solar system and the potential for life-building molecules in space.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#alma #comet #molecular-activity

science11 months ago•5 min saved

Stellar Flybys and Their Impact on Earth's Climate History

Recent research suggests that stellar flybys have likely not influenced Earth's past climate changes over the last 56 million years, challenging earlier hypotheses. Using comprehensive solar system models, scientists found no significant impact of passing stars on Earth's orbital stability or climate events like the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, emphasizing the importance of detailed modeling in understanding celestial influences on our planet.

via Universe Today|

#earths-climate #oort-cloud #paleoclimate

science11 months ago•2 min saved

Largest Oort Cloud Comet Unveiled by ALMA

Astronomers using ALMA have observed the largest known Oort Cloud comet, C/2014 UN271, at a record distance, detecting complex gas jets and providing new insights into its composition and activity far from the Sun, which could shed light on the early solar system and the origins of Earth's water.

via Phys.org|

#alma #c2014-un271 #comet

science11 months ago•7 min saved

Planetarium Discovery Promises New Insights into the Solar System

An accidental discovery during a planetarium show revealed a spiral structure in the Oort Cloud, challenging the traditional view of it as a spherical shell. This spiral, caused by the galactic tide affecting distant icy bodies, could reshape our understanding of the solar system's outer regions, although confirming this will be challenging with current technology.

via Yahoo|

#astronomy #discovery #oort-cloud