And Earth may be one of the primary donor worlds
Solar System
Solar System
Astronomy
How often does space rock hit the Earth’s atmosphere?
Space rock could be making its way through the Earth’s atmosphere more than we realise
Solar System
What colour are comets when they are not near the Sun?
Do comets look as vibrant when they’re not getting a helping hand from the Sun?
Solar System
Landslides and avalanches may be keeping comets active
Mass-wasting activities continuously expose fresh ice on a comet’s surface, thus keeping the comet active over long periods
Solar System
New release: ESA completes Rosetta spacecraft’s image archive
The last installment includes the iconic images of finding lander Philae and the orbiter’s final descent to Comet 67P’s surface
Solar System
Comet 67P could be younger than first thought
Computer simulations, combined with data from the Rosetta spacecraft, demonstrate that the comet could have been created after the formation of our Solar System
Solar System
Ceres’ organic material most likely made by dwarf planet
After ruling out the transportation of substances by asteroids and comets, scientists conclude that organics likely originate from Ceres
Deep Space
Mysterious ‘alien megastructure star’ could be caused by dust
Tabby’s Star has baffled astronomers for years, as it shows completely unexpected light variation
News
‘Wow!’ signal mystery finally solved
This signal detected in 1977 had gone unexplained until now, as scientists now confirm it’s from a comet
News
FREE PREVIEW: All About Space issue 61
Find out if the Higgs boson will destroy the universe in the latest issue of All About Space – out now!
News
Asteroid-hunting space telescope discovers two potential comets
NASA’s NEOWISE mission has found some celestial objects travelling through our neighbourhood, including one on the blurry line between asteroid and comet
News
Chemicals on comets provide clearer snapshot of a young Solar System
These primordial bodies contain material largely unchanged from the birth of the Solar System some 4.6 billion years ago
Astronomy
NIGHT SKY: Don’t miss this year’s “better-than-average” Perseids
The meteor shower could put on an even more impressive show thanks to comet Swift-Tuttle getting gravitational assistance from Jupiter
News
Rosetta solves the mystery of how comets are born
Detailed analysis of data collected by the ESA mission show that they are the ancient leftovers of early Solar System formation
News
Astronomers find evidence for comets in a distant solar system
The organic molecule methyl alcohol, or methanol, has been found in the TW Hydrae protoplanetary disc
News
Hubble provides closest-ever images of Comet LINEAR
Using the space telescope, astronomers have captured images of the comet just after a close encounter with Earth on 21 March
News
New meteor shower prompts watch for “potentially hazardous comet”
A new network of video surveillance cameras in New Zealand detected a surprise meteor shower on New Year’s Eve
News
Collision gave Comet 67P its ‘rubber duck’ shape, say Rosetta scientists
A low-speed smash up between two comets gave rise to the distinctive appearance of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
News
FREE PREVIEW: All About Space issue 42
We take a brand new breathtaking tour of dwarf planet Pluto in the latest issue
Deep Space
How do we know Kepler-78b is a planet?
How do we know for sure that this distant world is an exoplanet and not a comet or an asteroid?