Comets & Asteroids

Latest research has concluded that the Tunguska explosion was almost certainly caused by a comet entering the Earth's atmosphere. And how researcher Michael Kelly from Cornell University came to that conclusion is quite interesting: He analyzed the space shuttle's exhaust plume and noctilucent clouds.

Tau Zero journalist Larry Klaes looks at the NExT (New Exploration of Tempel) mission, which gives us a second crack at observing comet Tempel

How big were the first planetesimals? We attempt to answer this question by conducting coagulation simulations in which the planetesimals grow by mutual collisions and form larger bodies and planetary embryos

The story of the possible new impact on Jupiter

Secondary "condensation" in 19P/Borrelly, we performed some follow-up about this comet........

Observations show the production of crystalline silicates like those found in comets and meteorites in our own solar system.

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.

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…

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

The discovery of a 2- to 3-kilometre-wide asteroid in an orbit that goes backwards has set astronomers scratching their heads. It comes closer to Earth than any other object in a 'retrograde' orbit, and astronomers think they should have spotted it before.

The Solar System often throws up surprises for astronomers, but the recent discovery of a 2- to 3-km wide asteroid called 2009 HC82 has sent observers in a spin. A retrograde spin to be precise.

The structure of the Taurid meteor complex based on photographic orbits available in the IAU Meteor database is studied.

Observations of four comets made with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer.

Volatile organic emissions were detected post-perihelion in the long period comet C/2006 M4 (SWAN) in October and November 2006.

A new black spot about as big as the Earth has been found on Jupiter. Astronomers say it was caused by an impact.