Follow Rosetta's final Earth boost
ESA's comet chaser Rosetta will swing by Earth for the last time on 13 November to pick up energy and begin the final leg of its 10-year journey to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ESA's European Space Operations Centre will host a media briefing on that day. view more (2009-11-05)
'Ultra-primitive' particles found in comet dust
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. view more (2009-11-03)
Geologists point to outer space as source of the Earth's mineral riches
According to a new study by geologists at the University of Toronto and the University of Maryland, the wealth of some minerals that lie in the rock beneath the Earth's surface may be extraterrestrial in origin. view more (2009-10-19)
Twin Keck Telescopes Probe Dual Dust Disks
Astronomers using the twin 10-meter telescopes at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii have explored one of the most compact dust disks ever resolved around another star. view more (2009-09-25)
Seeing the Cosmos Through
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has taken its first shots of the cosmos since warming up and starting its second career. The infrared telescope ran out of coolant on May 15, 2009, more than five-and-half-years after launch, and has since warmed to a still-frosty 30 Kelvin (about minus 406 Fahrenheit). view more (2009-08-06)
Evidence of liquid water in comets reveals possible origin of life
Comets contained vast oceans of liquid water in their interiors during the first million years of their formation, a new study claims. view more (2009-07-31)
Primitive asteroids in the main asteroid belt may have formed far from the sun
Many of the objects found today in the asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter may have formed in the outermost reaches of the solar system. view more (2009-07-16)
We Owe It All to Comets
Comets have always fascinated us. A mysterious appearance could symbolize God's displeasure or mean a sure failure in battle, at least for one side. view more (2009-04-29)
Contrary to recent hypothesis, 'chevrons' are not evidence of megatsunamis
A persistent school of thought in recent years has held that so-called "chevrons," large U- or V-shaped formations found in some of the world's coastal areas, are evidence of megatsunamis caused by asteroids or comets slamming into the ocean. view more (2009-04-29)
Features of early Martian environment and presence of water drive search for life forms
olar energy and winds, collisions with asteroids and comets, and changing magnetic fields have all altered the environment of Mars, a planet that may have been able to support life during its history. view more (2009-04-17)
NASA's Swift Spies Comet Lulin
While waiting for high-energy outbursts and cosmic explosions, NASA's Swift Gamma-ray Explorer satellite is monitoring Comet Lulin as it closes on Earth. For the first time, astronomers are seeing simultaneous ultraviolet and X-ray images of a comet. view more (2009-02-23)
6 North American sites hold 12,900-year-old nanodiamond-rich soil
Abundant tiny particles of diamond dust exist in sediments dating to 12,900 years ago at six North American sites, adding strong evidence for Earth's impact with a rare swarm of carbon-and-water-rich comets or carbonaceous chondrites, reports a nine-member scientific team. view more (2009-01-05)
How to Destroy an Asteroid
In the hit 1998 movie Armageddon, Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck blew up an asteroid to save the world. While the film was science fiction, the chances of an asteroid hitting the Earth one day are very real ― and blowing up an asteroid in real life. view more (2008-12-04)
NASA's Swift Looks to Comets for a Cool View
NASA's Swift Gamma-ray Explorer satellite rocketed into space in 2004 on a mission to study some of the highest-energy events in the universe. view more (2008-12-04)
Beta Pictoris planet finally imaged?
A team of French astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have discovered an object located very close to the star Beta Pictoris, and which apparently lies inside its disc. view more (2008-11-24)
New comet discovered in Canada
Rob Cardinal was looking for an asteroid, but ended up finding a comet. It is the first time a comet has been discovered at the University of Calgary's Rothney Astrophysical Observatory, which is located about 35 kilometres southwest of Calgary, and only the second Canadian discovery of a comet using a Canadian telescope in nearly a decade. view more (2008-10-15)
Astronomers discover missing link for origin of comets
An international team of scientists that includes University of British Columbia astronomer Brett Gladman has found an unusual object whose backward and tilted orbit around the Sun may clarify the origins of certain comets. view more (2008-09-05)
Cosmic connections: Imperial scientist locates the origin of cosmic dust
The research, published in the journal Geology, shows that some of the cosmic dust falling to Earth comes from an ancient asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. This research improves our knowledge of the solar system, and could provide a new and inexpensive method for understanding space. view more (2008-09-03)
Water is 'designer fluid' that helps proteins change shape, scientists say
Ubiquitous on Earth, water also has been found in comets, on Mars and in molecular clouds in interstellar space. Now, scientists say this common fluid is not as well understood as we thought. view more (2008-08-07)
SOHO discovers its 1500th comet
The ESA/NASA SOHO spacecraft has just discovered its 1500th comet, making it more successful than all other comet discoverers throughout history put together. Not bad for a spacecraft that was designed as a solar physics mission. view more (2008-06-30)
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