Latest Comet Stories
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The European Space Agency (ESA) says it has unraveled the mystery as to the origin of water observed in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter. ESA's Herschel space observatory found evidence that the water in this part of Jupiter's atmosphere was delivered by the dramatic impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in July 1994. During this collision, a string of 21 comet fragments pounded into the southern hemisphere of Jupiter, leaving dark scars...
[WATCH VIDEO: Comet ISON Meteor Shower] redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online While Comet ISON’s eagerly anticipated encounter with the sun won’t even happen until November, it seems likely the fireball is already prepping a special encore performance for stargazers here on Earth. In January, the US space agency’s Swift spacecraft observed the comet ISON while it was still near the orbit of Jupiter. Even then, it had already become extremely active, with...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A critical design test for an infrared sensor that could improve NASA's future ability to detect and track asteroids and comets has been passed. The Near Earth Object Camera's (NEOCam) performance in an environment that mimicked the temperatures and pressures of deep space were assessed by the test. NEOCam will be the key instrument for a proposed new asteroid-hunting space-based telescope for which design and capability details have...
PASADENA, Calif., April 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An infrared sensor that could improve NASA's future detecting and tracking of asteroids and comets has passed a critical design test. (Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The test assessed performance of the Near Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) in an environment that mimicked the temperatures and pressures of deep space. NEOCam is the cornerstone instrument for a proposed new space-based...
NEUBEUERN, Germany, April 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Steinbichler (www.steinbichler.com), the leading provider of optical measuring and sensor technology, introduces its latest 8 megapixel 3D scanning sensor COMET L3D 8M. During the development of this device, Steinbichler made use of their continuously improved one-camera technology, as well as the experience gained through the premium product range COMET 5. In comparison to competing systems on the market, the COMET L3D 8M gives you...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Comet Pan-STARRS lit up our skies during March, but another comet is on its way that is expected to outshine it. Comet ISON has the potential to become a marvel for astronomers everywhere, possibly even becoming so bright it shines in the daytime. Astronomers from the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP) and Lowell Observatory used NASA's Swift satellite to size up Comet ISON and make initial estimates of the comet's water...
NASA Science [ Watch the Video ScienceCasts: Collision Course? ] Over the years, the spacefaring nations of Earth have sent dozens of probes and rovers to explore Mars. Today there are three active satellites circling the red planet while two rovers, Opportunity and Curiosity, wheel across the red sands below. Mars is dry, barren, and apparently lifeless. Soon, those assets could find themselves exploring a very different kind of world. "There is a small but non-negligible chance...
AlphaGalileo Foundation A comet discovered by a Queen’s University Belfast supported project will be visible in UK and Irish skies from tomorrow evening (Tuesday 12 March) onwards. Comet PANSTARRS was discovered in June 2011, by a team including astronomers from the Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen’s, using the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawaii, when it was still 1.2 billion kilometers from the Sun. The comet will be visible by eye low-down in the Western sky from roughly...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online An asteroid about the size of a city block will be making its way past Earth later today, and Slooh plans on giving the world access to its tools to view the near-Earth object (NEO). Slooh, a leader in live, celestial event programming, said in a statement earlier this week that it will be broadcasting the asteroid 2013 ET on Saturday (Mar 9) as the it passes by Earth at about 2.5 times the Moon's distance from us. 2013 ET was...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online The combination of new technology, a growing interest in astronomy, and more media hype has led to an even bigger fear of "what if" scenarios for potentially hazardous asteroids. However, Iowa State engineers say they are coming up with a few ideas to help save our planet from a repeat of the asteroid-impact that led to the dinosaur annihilation. Bong Wie and colleagues from Iowa State will be presenting a paper as part of NASA's...
Latest Comet Reference Libraries
A Shubunkin is a type of single-tailed goldfish with calico coloration, a combination of orange, white, black, red, and blue markings, blue being the most desired. They are similar to the common goldfish and the comet goldfish. Also called speckled goldfish, harlequin goldfish, calico goldfish, and coronation fish, they were developed in Japan about a hundred years ago by crossing calico fantails with single-tailed goldfish to produce a hardy, able swimmer with bright colors. There are...
A Fantail goldfish is a standard "fancy" type of goldfish. It has a dual-lobed tail, unlike its cousin the common or comet. Its fins can be different sizes, ranging from 1-3 in or more in length. A typical fantail has paired fins, including anal fins, a single dorsal fin, and a round, pointed body shape. It can range in color, from bronze (known as chocolate), orange, red, calico, and mixes of the colors. It is the third hardiest of the fancy goldfish with Comet first and Shubunkin second,...
The Comet is a commonly kept form of goldfish, the only type to have originated in the United States. They first appeared in the ponds of the Fish Commission in Washington in the early 1880s. Hugo Mullertt was the first person to bring the Comet goldfish to the market in a large quantity. Characterized by a long, tall, flowing tailfin they can be differentiated from the common goldfish, although otherwise they are very similar. Both of these varieties are quite hardy and will do well in...
Comet -- A comet is a small body from the outer reaches of the solar system similar to an asteroid but composed of ice. Often described as "dirty snowballs," they are composed largely of carbon dioxide ice, methane ice, and water ice with a mixture of dust and small stony aggregates mixed in. Comets are thought to be small pieces of debris left over from the formation of the solar system, representing a sample of the original composition of the nebula that condensed to form the Sun and all...
The Solar System refers to the area in space that is dominated by our own Sun. It is comprised of the Sun and its associated astronomical objects that are held in its gravitational orbit. The Solar System was formed as a result of the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The mass of this system is located almost entirely in the Sun. Apart from the Sun, a high percentage of the remainder of the system’s mass is located in the eight solitary planets that...
![An Astronomer\](/media/gallery/spitzer-space-telescope-sirtf/thumbs/thumbs_746643main_pia17008_full.jpg "An Astronomer\")
