NASA spacecraft woos comet on Valentine's Day (AP)
Space / Astronomy Related News
AP - A NASA spacecraft flew by a comet half the size of Manhattan for a nighttime rendezvous on Valentine's Day. Source: Yahoo! News: Space/Astronomy
Image from Wikimedia public domain.
Comet Research (Hover)
Relationships between chemicals found on comets
A new study has revealed similarities and relationships between certain types of chemicals found on 30 different comets, which vary widely in their overall composition compared to one another. The research is part of ongoing investigations into these primordial bodies, which contain material largely unchanged from the birth of the solar system some 4.6 billion years ago. Ref. Source 1w.
Chemical engineer explains oxygen mystery on comets
A chemical engineer who normally develops new ways to fabricate microprocessors in computers has figured out how to explain a nagging mystery in space -- why comets expel oxygen gas, the same gas we humans breathe. Ref. Source 9u.
Large, distant comets more common than previously thought. There are about seven times more long-period comets measuring at least 1 kilometer across than previously predicted, suggests new research. The researchers also found that long-period comets are, on average, nearly twice as large as 'Jupiter family' comets, whose orbits are shaped by Jupiter's gravity and have periods of less than 20 years. Source 3l.
Yup, and one day one of these comets is going to hit Earth again, changing the face of the planet and driving life into another Darwinian episode where it evolves. If we haven't figured out how to stop the comet, alter its course, or destroy it by then or if we haven't figured out how get off of this rock, we'll be done as a species. If we survive at all we may evolve, but we'll be so different afterwards we wouldn't be recognizable I'd guess.
Comet makes a pit stop near Jupiter's asteroids. After traveling several billion miles toward the Sun, a wayward young comet-like object orbiting among the giant planets has found a temporary parking place along the way. The object has settled near a family of captured ancient asteroids, called Trojans, that are orbiting the Sun alongside Jupiter. This is the first time a comet-like object has been spotted near the Trojan population. Source 8b.
Rare 4,000-year comets can cause meteor showers on Earth. Researchers report that they can detect showers from the debris in the path of comets that pass close to Earth orbit and return as infrequently as once every 4,000 years. Source 1o.