'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)
Comet dust from NASA mission under analysis
Scientists at the University of Chicago are among the first ever to analyze cometary dust delivered to Earth via spacecraft. view more (2006-02-21)
Meteorites discovered to carry interstellar carbon
Like an interplanetary spaceship carrying passengers, meteorites have long been suspected of ferrying relatively young ingredients of life to our planet. view more (2006-05-05)
NASA satellite sees solar hurricane detach comet tail
A NASA satellite has captured the first images of a collision between a comet and a solar hurricane. It is the first time scientists have witnessed such an event on another cosmic body. view more (2007-10-02)
Red dust in planet-forming disk may harbor precursors to life
Astronomers at the Carnegie Institution have found the first indications of highly complex organic molecules in the disk of red dust surrounding a distant star. view more (2008-01-04)
Royal Astronomical Society Debates Asteroid Threat 14 December
Action being taken by the UK government, the United Nations and the European Space Agency to further our understanding of the hazard posed by near Earth objects (NEOs) in space are on the agenda at Royal Astronomical Society meetings in London on Friday 14 December. The meetings are open and media representatives are cordially invited. (For... view more... (2001-12-09)
Astronomers discover the wake of a planet around a nearby star
An international team of astronomers today report the discovery of a huge distorted disk of cold dust surrounding Fomalhaut - one of the brightest stars in the sky. The most likely cause of the distortion is the gravitational influence of a Saturn-like planet at a large distance from the star tugging on the disk. This provides some of the... view more... (2002-10-10)
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)
Once a myth, now an object of study
On 26 February, Rosetta will be setting off on its long journey through our solar system to meet up with Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It will take the European Space Agency (ESA) space probe ten years to reach its destination. The comet, which moves in an elliptical orbit around the Sun, will at rendezvous be some 675 million kilometres from the... view more... (2004-02-23)
UK scientists all set for New Year encounter with a comet
On January 2nd 2004 the NASA space mission, STARDUST, will fly through comet Wild 2, capturing interstellar particles and dust and returning them to Earth in 2006. Space scientists from the Open University and University of Kent have developed one of the instruments which will help tell us more about comets and the evolution of our own solar... view more... (2003-12-16)
Ghosts found in space
For Halloween this year, watch out for some real ghosts cruising through space, destined never to `cross over` to the other side. These ghosts are scientific satellites that have reached the end of their mission and experts have turned off all their instruments. Other satellites cross over into the Earth`s atmosphere to be burned up on reentry,... view more... (2002-10-31)
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)
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)
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)
Stardust comet dust resembles asteroid materials
Contrary to expectations for a small icy body, much of the comet dust returned by the Stardust mission formed very close to the young sun and was altered from the solar system's early materials. view more (2008-01-25)
ESA develops a smarter way to travel through space
As scientists demand more from space missions travelling to other worlds and beyond, traditional rocket technologies are beginning to show shortcomings. In response, ESA are helping to develop a new type of rocket engine, known as solar-electric propulsion, or more commonly, an ion engine, that can mark a whole new era of space exploration.... view more... (2002-06-11)
NRL Instrument on NASA Satellite Sees Solar Hurricane Detach Comet Tail
Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory report they have captured the first images of a collision between a comet and a solar hurricane. view more (2007-10-03)
Binary asteroid in Jupiter's orbit may be icy comets from solar system's infancy
Astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, working with colleagues in France and at the Keck Telescope in Hawaii, have calculated the density of a known binary asteroid system that shares Jupiter's orbit, and concluded that Patroclus and its companion probably are composed mostly of water ice covered by a patina of dirt. view more (2006-02-02)
U of M physicist reads the history of the solar system in grains of comet dust
Four years ago, NASA's Stardust spacecraft chased down a comet and collected grains of dust blowing off its nucleus. When the spacecraft Comet Wild-2 returned, comet dust was shipped to scientists all over the world, including University of Minnesota physics professor Bob Pepin. view more (2008-01-04)
Carnegie scientists fine-tuning methods for Stardust analysis
On Sunday, January 15, NASA's Stardust mission landed safely with the first solid comet fragments ever brought back to Earth. Members of the mission's Preliminary Examination Team, including several from the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory and Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, are among the first to analyze these precious samples. view more (2006-03-23)
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