NASA’s enduring NEOWISE mission was just shut down. It was keeping an eye out for potentially dangerous asteroids – but we’re not left defenceless.
Articles on Comets
Displaying 21 - 40 of 103 articles
Vast amounts of space rocks litter our Solar System, and sometimes land on Earth’s surface. There are many things we can learn from them.
If you look carefully at the night sky, you may spot this fuzzy visitor with the naked eye – but binoculars will help.
A scholar of early Christian literature writes that religious theories around celestial events are part of a larger human pattern to find meaning. And they go back thousands of years.
In 2024 we will see meteor showers, Saturn disappearing behind the Moon, and – if we’re lucky – a comet bright enough to see with the naked eye.
There’s a flurry of excitement every time a comet comes into view from Earth. But what are these celestial objects, and where do they come from?
There’s a chance Nishimura might brighten unexpectedly – but it’s a slim one.
Astronomer Caroline Herschel’s work discovering and cataloging astronomical objects in the 18th century is still used in the field today, but she didn’t always get her due credit.
There is a very large scientific leap from observing a fireball to claiming it as an alien spaceship.
The newly discovered comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is anticipated to be spectacularly bright late next year. But it’s important to temper our expectations.
Skies in the Northern Hemisphere have been graced by a rare, green comet. Now, it’s our turn to look for it in Australia – but the view will be dimming rapidly.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test successfully showed that it is possible to crash a spacecraft into a small asteroid. Whether the approach could save Earth from a future threat remains to be seen.
Crashing the 1,340-pound DART probe into the small moonlet orbiting the asteroid Didymos should redirect its trajectory – and could be a model for how to save Earth in the future.
Could the Tau Herculid meteor shower put on a spectacular show next week? Only time will tell.
Each year, the Earth runs through a broad river of dust surrounding Comet Halley – giving birth to the spectacular Eta Aquariid meteor shower.
There’s no need to panic about the asteroids heading ‘close’ to Earth in January.
Will Don’t Look Up wake people up? Here’s what the research on climate communication says.
You might think lots of meteorites ultimately come from comets. Turns out, you’d be wrong, according to a new study that tracked meteors hurtling through the sky to find out where they came from.
A poor start for meteor showers in 2021 but things get better with a possible spectacular surprise later in the year. Here’s your guide on when and where to look to catch nature’s fireworks.
Are you hesitating to buy anti-Covid-19 toothpaste? 100 years ago, you might have found some miracle elixirs to protect you from Halley’s Comet.
Top contributors
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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Senior Curator (Astronomy), Museums Victoria Research Institute; The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University
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Research Associate, The Open University
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Lecturer, School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology
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Postdoctoral Fellow in Planetary Sciences, NASA
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Co-Director Space Technology and Industry Institute, Swinburne University of Technology
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Professor of Astrophysics, Queen's University Belfast
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Director of the Abrams Planetarium, Michigan State University
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Professor of Planetary Sciences, The Open University
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Assistant Professor, Michigan State University
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Lecturer in Ancient History, Cardiff University
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Professor of Petrology, Queensland University of Technology
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Adjunct professor, UNSW
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Reader in Planetary Science, UCL