Comets

Comets

The recent ground-breaking Rosetta mission, where a probe called Philae landed on a comet 500 million miles from Earth, demonstrates the human drive to discover more about comets. Comets are often referred to as ''dusty snowballs'', as they consist of an ice and rock centre (its nucleus) surrounded by a cloud of gas and dust (the coma). Considered leftovers from the formation of our Solar System, the majority of comets inhabit the 'Ooort Cloud', beyond the orbit of Pluto. Occasionally one soars through the Solar System, leaving bright tails in its wake, providing a celestial show to Earth. As a result of this movement, many theories hypothesis that comets may have led to life on Earth.

Everest-sized ‘Devil comet’ tonight: How to see the once-in-a-lifetime 2024 event

The 'unused building block of the Solar System' is hurtling towards the Sun, leaving behind a trail of dust and gas. If you’re lucky, you might just catch a glimpse.
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Perseid meteor shower 2023 guide: All you need to know

The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend, and unlike last year, viewing conditions are set to be excellent. It’s one of the best meteor showers of the year: here’s how and when to watch
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Meteor, asteroid and comet: What’s the difference?

Know your meteorite from your meteoroid with our handy guide.
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Meteorites, with Dr Tim Gregory

Cosmochemist Dr Tim Gregory joins us on our podcasts, Instant Genius and Instant Genius Extra.
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What does a comet smell like?

Can’t blame this one on the dog…
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Did a huge comet impact ignite civilisation on Earth as we know it?

A new analysis suggests society may have started with a bang.
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Heavy metals unexpectedly found in comets' atmospheres throughout the Solar System

The presence of iron and nickel vapours in comets' atmospheres reveal a hole in our understanding of early Solar System.
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How to see the Lyrid meteor shower 2021 tonight

Where, when, and how to spot the first major meteor shower of this year.
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Jupiter flung the dinosaur-killing comet into Earth, new study suggests

Gravitational pulls can cause the Solar System to act like a giant ‘pinball machine’, researchers at Harvard University say.
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Building blocks of life can form in interstellar clouds through ‘dark chemistry’

Glycine, an amino acid, can form in interstellar clouds without the heat of a star.
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No, an asteroid probably won’t smash into Earth the day before the US elections, and here’s why

What are the chances that we'll be struck by a space rock?
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An increasingly rare opportunity to spot a comet with the naked eye

Neowise has an orbit of almost 6,800 years, meaning that the last generation of people to see it would have lived during the 5th millennium BC.
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5 things you (probably) didn't know

If everything you know about asteroids comes from disaster movies then it’s time to brush up on your space rock knowledge – rather than destroying life, they could have started it…
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How planetary collisions work

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s impact on Jupiter was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
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