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Keyword: comets

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  • Asteroid, Comet…or Something Else? Mysterious Activity on “Oddball” Space Object Raises New Questions

    01/07/2025 5:35:38 AM PST · by Red Badger · 21 replies
    Scitech Daily ^ | January 07, 2025 | University of Central Florida
    An artistic representation of Chiron’s nucleus surrounded by debris and a coma of dust and gas. Credit: William Gonzalez Sierra UCF researchers utilized the James Webb Space Telescope to uncover unique characteristics of (2060) Chiron, a distant “centaur” that exhibits traits of both a comet and an asteroid. These findings provide valuable insights into the origins of our Solar System. Although our Solar System is billions of years old, we’ve only recently gained deeper insight into one of its most dynamic and intriguing members: (2060) Chiron. Chiron belongs to a group of celestial objects known as “Centaurs.” These objects orbit...
  • COMET 2024 G3 (Atlas) " THE WOLF COMET " *New*

    12/10/2024 9:44:11 PM PST · by Orlando · 5 replies
    Youtube ^ | 12-10-24 | VetFather
    COMET 2024 G3 LEFT THE WOLF HEAD and it's races toward the Sun (Watch date Jan 13th 2025 ) It could be a great object for astronomical observers in the southern hemisphere. Its perihelion, the closest point to the Sun, will occur on 13th January 2025, when it will be only 14 million kilometres from our star.
  • Why Halley's Comet May Be Linked to Famine 1,500 Years Ago

    12/20/2013 6:21:32 PM PST · by BenLurkin · 35 replies
    livescience.com ^ | December 18, 2013 07:53am ET | Mike Wall, Senior Writer |
    A piece of the famous Halley's comet likely slammed into Earth in A.D. 536, blasting so much dust into the atmosphere that the planet cooled considerably, a new study suggests. This dramatic climate shift is linked to drought and famine around the world, which may have made humanity more susceptible to "Justinian's plague" in A.D. 541-542 — the first recorded emergence of the Black Death in Europe. The new results come from an analysis of Greenland ice that was laid down between A.D. 533 and 540. The ice cores record large amounts of atmospheric dust during this seven-year period, not...
  • Giant Meteorites Slammed Earth Around A.D. 500?

    02/05/2010 7:31:57 AM PST · by Palter · 31 replies · 906+ views
    National Geographic News ^ | 03 Feb 2010 | Richard A. Lovett
    Double impact may have caused tsunami, global cooling Pieces of a giant asteroid or comet that broke apart over Earth may have crashed off Australia about 1,500 years ago, says a scientist who has found evidence of the possible impact craters. Satellite measurements of the Gulf of Carpentaria (see map) revealed tiny changes in sea level that are signs of impact craters on the seabed below, according to new research by marine geophysicist Dallas Abbott. Based on the satellite data, one crater should be about 11 miles (18 kilometers) wide, while the other should be 7.4 miles (12 kilometers) wide....
  • Astronomers unravel a mystery of the Dark Ages

    02/03/2004 2:54:24 PM PST · by ckilmer · 83 replies · 3,305+ views
    EurekAlert ^ | 3-Feb-2004 | Dr Derek Ward-Thompson
    Public release date: 3-Feb-2004 Contact: Dr Derek Ward-Thompson derek.ward-thompson@astro.cf.ac.uk 029-2087-5314 Cardiff University Astronomers unravel a mystery of the Dark Ages Undergraduates' work blames comet for 6th-century "nuclear winter" Scientists at Cardiff University, UK, believe they have discovered the cause of crop failures and summer frosts some 1,500 years ago – a comet colliding with Earth. The team has been studying evidence from tree rings, which suggests that the Earth underwent a series of very cold summers around 536-540 AD, indicating an effect rather like a nuclear winter. The scientists in the School of Physics and Astronomy believe this was caused...
  • Tale Of (King) Arthur Points To Comet Catastrophe

    04/21/2006 4:39:40 PM PDT · by blam · 104 replies · 2,039+ views
    The Times ^ | 9-9-2000 | Nick Nuttall
    TALE OF ARTHUR POINTS TO COMET CATASTROPHE From The Times, 9 September 2000 http://www.the-times.co.uk BY NICK NUTTALL Arthur: myth links him to fire from the sky THE story of the death of King Arthur and its references to a wasteland may have been inspired by the apocalyptic effects of a giant comet bombarding the Earth in AD540, leading to the Dark Ages, a British scientist said yesterday. The impacts filled the atmosphere with dust and debris; a long winter began. Crops failed, and there was famine, Dr Mike Baillie of Queen's University, Belfast, told the British Association for the Advancement...
  • Comet smashes triggered ancient famine [ March 536 AD ]

    01/08/2009 9:54:17 PM PST · by SunkenCiv · 40 replies · 1,221+ views
    New Scientist ^ | January 7, 2009 | Ker Than
    Multiple comet impacts around 1500 years ago triggered a "dry fog" that plunged half the world into famine. Historical records tell us that from the beginning of March 536 AD, a fog of dust blanketed the atmosphere for 18 months. During this time, "the sun gave no more light than the moon", global temperatures plummeted and crops failed, says Dallas Abbott of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York... Now Abbott and her team have found the first direct evidence that multiple impacts caused the haze. They found tiny balls of condensed rock vapour or "spherules" in debris inside...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Comet at Moonrise

    10/04/2024 1:57:02 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 10 replies
    NASA ^ | 4 Oct, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Gabriel Zaparolli
    Explanation: Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is growing brighter in planet Earth's sky. Fondly known as comet A3, this new visitor to the inner Solar System is traveling from the distant Oort cloud. The comet reached perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun, on September 27 and will reach perigee, its closest to our fair planet, on October 12, by then becoming an evening sky apparition. But comet A3 was an early morning riser on September 30 when this image was made. Its bright coma and already long tail share a pre-dawn skyscape from Praia Grande, Santa Catarina in southern Brazil...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Approaches

    09/23/2024 12:04:46 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 9 replies
    NASA ^ | 23 Sep, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Brian Valente & Greg Stein
    Explanation: What will happen as this already bright comet approaches? Optimistic predictions have Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) briefly becoming easily visible to the unaided eye -- although the future brightness of comets are notoriously hard to predict, and this comet may even break up in warming sunlight. What is certain is that the comet is now unexpectedly bright and is on track to pass its closest to the Sun (0.39 AU) later this week and closest to the Earth (0.47 AU) early next month. The featured image was taken in late May as Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS, discovered only last year, passed...
  • Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) latest news, predictions and what to expect this autumn

    06/26/2024 5:58:59 AM PDT · by COBOL2Java · 32 replies
    BBC Sky At Night ^ | June 24, 2024 at 2:43 am | Stuart Atkinson
    Could Comet A3 become another Great Comet, or even simply reach naked-eye brightness? We'll find out in autumn 2024... Have you heard about Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) yet? Comet observers are all hoping for big things from comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) in autumn 2024. When it was discovered, it was hailed as a potential ‘comet of the century’ and calculations suggested it might become as bright as mag. -4! It’s now thought that at best A3 will reach mag. +0.4, a lot fainter but still much brighter than the last really bright comet, C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE), which delighted sky-watchers in...
  • stronomy Picture of the Day - Comet A3 Through an Australian Sunrise

    09/25/2024 12:20:30 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 23 replies
    NASA ^ | 25 Sep, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Lucy Yunxi Hu
    Explanation: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is now visible in the early morning sky. Diving into the inner Solar System at an odd angle, this large dirty iceberg will pass its closest to the Sun -- between the orbits of Mercury and Venus -- in just two days. Long camera exposures are now capturing C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), sometimes abbreviated as just A3, and its dust tail before and during sunrise. The featured image composite was taken four days ago and captured the comet as it rose above Lake George, NSW, Australia. Vertical bands further left are images of the comet as the rising...
  • A comet may become visible to the unaided eye in the coming weeks. Here's how you can see it

    09/23/2024 9:24:18 AM PDT · by jerod · 25 replies
    CBC News ^ | Sept 23, 2024 | Nicole Mortillaro
    Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) has the potential to put on a stellar showThere's a new comet in the sky that has gained a lot of attention lately over its potential to become visible to the naked eye. Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) was discovered by observatories in China and South Africa in early 2023. Believed to have originated from the Oort Cloud — a giant spherical shell that surrounds our solar system and contains billions of icy objects — this little comet has been slowly making its way into our solar system. At the moment, Comet C/2023 A3 is roughly 175...
  • “The comet of the century” visible to the naked eye this weekend: exact time to watch

    09/27/2024 9:21:10 PM PDT · by blueplum · 21 replies
    Daily Galaxy msn ^ | 27 Sept 2024 | Editorial Staff
    The Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet, also named C/2023 A3, will reach its closest approach to the Sun, or perihelion, on Friday, September 27, 2024, at a distance of 59 million kilometers. As the comet journeys through the inner solar system, it offers an impressive display.... In the United States... From September 27 to September 30, the comet will be best observed in the southeastern sky, about an hour before dawn.... ...the comet will be visible again in mid-October. On October 13, it will be at its closest to Earth, around 71 million kilometers away, and will be observable after sunset, looking west....
  • Comet Smacked Neptune 200 Years Ago, Data Suggests [2010]

    09/22/2024 10:37:39 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 25 replies
    Space dot com ^ | July 23, 2010 | Denise Chow
    New measurements of Neptune's atmosphere by a European space telescope suggest that a comet may have crashed into the gas giant about 200 years ago.Scientists analyzed the composition of Neptune's atmosphere using data from the Herschel space observatory. They found a peculiar distribution of carbon monoxide in the gas giant's atmosphere, which could be an indication of an earlier comet impact...Other similar collisions between comets (or asteroids) and planets helped the astronomers detect the telltale signs of cometary impacts.When pieces of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 slammed into Jupiter in 1994, scientists were able to examine the trajectory and debris to...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Comet Pons-Brooks Develops Opposing Tails

    06/04/2024 12:19:19 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 8 replies
    NASA ^ | 4 Jun, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Rolando Ligustri & Lukas Demetz
    Explanation: Why does Comet Pons-Brooks now have tails pointing in opposite directions? The most spectacular tail is the blue-glowing ion tail that is visible flowing down the image. The ion tail is pushed directly out from the Sun by the solar wind. On the upper right is the glowing central coma of Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks. Fanning out from the coma, mostly to the left, is the comet's dust tail. Pushed out and slowed down by the pressure of sunlight, the dust tail tends to trail the comet along its orbit and, from some viewing angles, can appear opposite to the ion...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - The Changing Ion Tail of Comet Pons-Brooks

    04/08/2024 12:50:58 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 5 replies
    NASA ^ | 8 Apr, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Shengyu Li & Shaining
    Explanation: How does a comet tail change? It depends on the comet. The ion tail of Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks has been changing markedly, as detailed in the featured image sequenced over nine days from March 6 to 14 (top to bottom). On some days, the comet's ion tail was relatively long and complex, but not every day. Reasons for tail changes include the rate of ejection of material from the comet's nucleus, the strength and complexity of the passing solar wind, and the rotation rate of the comet. Over the course of a week, apparent changes even include a change of...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Comet Pons-Brooks at Night

    04/04/2024 2:44:56 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 12 replies
    NASA ^ | 4 Apr, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett`
    Explanation: In dark evening skies over June Lake, northern hemisphere, planet Earth, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks stood just above the western horizon on March 30. Its twisted turbulent ion tail and diffuse greenish coma are captured in this two degree wide telescopic field of view along with bright yellowish star Hamal also known as Alpha Arietis. Now Pons-Brooks has moved out of the northern night though, approaching perihelion on April 21. On April 8 you might still spot the comet in daytime skies. But to do it, you will have to stand in the path of totality and look away from the...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Comet Pons-Brooks' Ion Tail

    03/26/2024 12:47:45 PM PDT · by MtnClimber · 6 replies
    NASA ^ | 26 Mar, 2024 | Image Credit & License: James Peirce
    Explanation: Comet Pons-Brooks has quite a tail to tell. First discovered in 1385, this erupting dirty snowball loops back into our inner Solar System every 71 years and, this time, is starting to put on a show for deep camera exposures. In the featured picture, the light blue stream is the ion tail which consists of charged molecules pushed away from the comet's nucleus by the solar wind. The ion tail, shaped by the Sun's wind and the comet's core's rotation, always points away from the Sun. Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks is now visible with binoculars in the early evening sky toward...
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day - Structure in the Tail of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks

    02/16/2024 12:48:10 PM PST · by MtnClimber · 6 replies
    NASA ^ | 16 Feb, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett`
    Explanation: Heading for its next perihelion passage on April 21, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is growing brighter. The greenish coma of this periodic Halley-type comet has become relatively easy to observe in small telescopes. But the bluish ion tail now streaming from the active comet's coma and buffeted by the solar wind, is faint and difficult to follow. Still, in this image stacked exposures made on the night of February 11 reveal the fainter tail's detailed structures. The frame spans over two degrees across a background of faint stars and background galaxies toward the northern constellation Lacerta. Of course Comet 12P's April...
  • Can astronomers use radar to spot a cataclysmic asteroid?

    02/18/2024 5:07:40 PM PST · by Red Badger · 17 replies
    Space Daily ^ | Feb 18, 2024 | by Clarence Oxford
    NEO 2003 SD220 on screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How can humans protect the Earth from "devastating asteroid and comet impacts?" According to the National Academies and their 2023-2032 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, ground based astronomical radar systems will have a "unique role" to play in planetary defense. There is currently only one system in the world concentrating on these efforts, NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar, part of the Deep Space Network (DSN). However, a new instrument concept from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) called the next generation RADAR (ngRADAR) system will use the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope...