Comets & Asteroids

Coastal formations called chevrons, large U- or V-shaped features found on coastlines around the world were originally thought to be evidence of ancient

We analyzed the Subaru/Suprime-Cam images of 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3B and detected no fewer than 154 mini-comets. We applied synchrone-syndyne analysis, modified for rocket effect analysis, to the mini-fragment spatial distribution. We found that most of these mini-comets were ejected from fragment B by an outburst occurring around 1 April 2006.

The enduringly popular theory that the Chicxulub crater holds the clue to the demise of the dinosaurs, along with some 65 percent of all species 65 million years ago, is challenged in a paper to be published in the Journal of the Geological Society on April 27, 2009.

Gerta Keller (Princeton University) and Thierry Adatte (University of Lausanne) believe the Chicxulub crater in northern Yucatan was formed some 300,000 years before the mass extinction occurred. Moreover, Keller argues in the upcoming Journal of the Geological Society that not a single species went extinct as a result of the impact.

If Earthlings discovered a large asteroid heading towards our planet, how would we react? But more importantly would the space agencies and/or world governments be prepared for such an event?

Diverting incoming asteroids is a high priority item, and so is a mission to a nearby asteroid for a close-up study of its composition and a shakeout of operating technologies.

A young asteroid's surface will age prematurely, but it's not caused by the Sun's ultraviolet rays, it's caused by the solar wind…

A new study published in Nature this week reveals that asteroid surfaces age and redden faster than previously thought - in less than a million years, the blink of an eye for an asteroid.

High-dispersion (l/dl ~ 25,000) infrared spectra of Comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) were acquired on Nov. 28-29, 2004, and Jan. 19, 2005 (UT dates) with NIRSPEC at the Keck-2 telescope on Mauna Kea.

David French, a doctoral candidate in aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University is proposing a new tool for the anti-asteroid arsenal.

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks April 22, and conditions favor a great display.

IAU Circular No. 9038, issued on 2009 Apr 15, announces the recovery P/2003 H4 (LINEAR) = P/2009 F7 (LINEAR)

New simulations suggest the monster waves created by a small asteroid impact would break before they reached land, but you still wouldn't want to be near

Millions of asteroids are winging around the solar system, but which ones do we have to fear? Browse these images of our ominous neighbors to find out.

'Noise' from the LISA mission will give scientists a way to study the mass and number of near-Earth asteroids.

On March 26, 2009, Korean amateur Dae-am Yi caught the small, greenish glow of a new comet with his Canon camera.

Are you ready for the new kid on the block? Its name is Comet Yi-SWAN and it's not going to be very long before it's easily within range of small telescopes

By combining spacecraft observations with ground-based telescope observations of a comet, scientists can create a more detailed model of what is happening on the comet's surface over time.

NASA's Swift spacecraft reveals new aspects of Comet Lulin when viewing it in X-rays and the ultraviolet.

Image and information about the newly discovered comet C/2009 F6 (YI-SWAN).