Comet
hideA comet is a Small Solar System Body that orbits the Sun. When close enough to the Sun, a comet exhibits a visible coma (fuzzy "atmosphere"), and sometimes a tail, both because of the effects of solar radiation upon the comet's nucleus. Comet nuclei are themselves loose collections of ice, dust and small rocky particles, ranging from a few kilometers to tens of kilometers across.
For more information about Comet, read the full article at
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News tagged with comet
Superior Super Earths
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 30, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (46) |
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Super Earths are named for their size, but these planets - which range from about 2 to 10 Earth masses - could be superior to the Earth when it comes to sustaining life. They could also provide an answer to ...
Rosetta bound for outer Solar System after final Earth swingby (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 13, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- This morning, mission controllers confirmed that ESA’s comet chaser Rosetta had swung by Earth at 8:45 CET as planned, skimming past our planet to pick up a gravitational boost for an epic ...
First view of Earth as Rosetta approaches home
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 12, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (6) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- This spectacular image of our home planet was captured by the OSIRIS instrument on ESA's Rosetta comet chaser earlier today as the spacecraft approached Earth for the third and final swingby. ...
Unsettled Youth: Spitzer Observes a Chaotic Planetary System
Nov 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Before our planets found their way to the stable orbits they circle in today, they wiggled and jostled about like unsettled children. Now, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found a young ...
'Ultra-primitive' particles found in comet dust
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 02, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (9) |
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Dust samples collected by high-flying aircraft in the upper atmosphere have yielded an unexpectedly rich trove of relicts from the ancient cosmos, report scientists from the Carnegie Institution. The stratospheric ...
First discovery of life's building block in comet made
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 17, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (18) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft.
Jupiter had temporary moon for 12 years
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 14, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (8) |
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Comet 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu was captured as a temporary moon of Jupiter in the mid-20th century and remained trapped in an irregular orbit for about twelve years.
Patagonia site of world's biggest crater field: study
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 08, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (18) |
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Argentina can lay claim to the world's largest crater field, a volcanic area in Patagonia known as the "Devil's Slope," according to a study released Tuesday.
Channels from Mars Hale Crater
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 28, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (7) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows channels to the southeast of Hale crater on southern Mars. Taken by the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) ...
New Images Indicate Object Hits Jupiter
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 21, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (22) |
11
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have found evidence that another object has bombarded Jupiter, exactly 15 years after the first impacts by the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.
How to Make a Planet: Spitzer Spots Clump of Swirling Planetary Material
Sep 23, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers have witnessed odd behavior around a young star. Something, perhaps another star or a planet, appears to be pushing a clump of planet-forming material around. The observations, ...
Rosetta spacecraft may help unravel cosmic mystery (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 12, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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When Europe's comet chaser Rosetta swings by Earth tomorrow for a critical gravity assist, tracking data will be collected to precisely measure the satellite's change in orbital energy. The results could help ...
Crashing comets not likely the cause of Earth's mass extinctions: new research
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have debated how many mass extinction events in Earth's history were triggered by a space body crashing into the planet's surface. Most agree that an asteroid collision 65 million ...
A long night falls over Saturn's rings
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 24, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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As Saturn's rings orbit the planet, a section is typically in the planet's shadow, experiencing a brief night lasting from 6 to 14 hours. However, once approximately every 15 years, night falls over the entire ...
Orionids Meteor Shower Lights Up the Sky
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 21, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
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Earth is currently passing through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, lighting up the night sky with the "fireworks" of the annual Orionids meteor shower.
