Shock-synthesized diamonds said to prove a catastrophic impact killed off North American megafauna can’t be found
Archive for the ‘Comets’ Category
Impact hypothesis loses its sparkle
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010Asteroid Threat Early Warning System Proposed
Saturday, August 21st, 2010Scientists are taking a hard look at a proposal to keep a high-tech, yet low-cost, eye on the heavens for asteroids or comets that may have Earth in their crosshairs.
NASA Panel Calls for Asteroid Defense Office
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010Protecting Earth from menacing space rocks that could impact our planet should be designated a top-level NASA strategic goal, according to an agency task force. To achieve that goal, NASA should establish a Planetary Defense Coordination Office to oversee the effort, the task force said.
Rosetta will encounter unseen asteroid Saturday
Friday, July 9th, 2010The comet-bound Rosetta spacecraft will use its powerful instruments to see and sniff asteroid Lutetia Saturday, taking advantage of a fortuitous flyby of the perplexing object, which could be a chunk of primordial rock from the ancient solar system.
Zodiacal light: zombie comets to blame
Friday, July 9th, 2010TRAVEL out into the primal darkness, far away from the bright lights of civilisation, and, on a clear night in the hour before dawn, you may see a great pyramid of light rising up into the sky from the eastern horizon.
‘Hitchhiker’ EPOXI: Next Stop, Comet Hartley 2
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010NASA’s Deep Impact/EPOXI spacecraft flew past Earth Sunday (June 27) at approximately 3:03 p.m. Pacific time (6:03 p.m. Eastern time), as planned. The spacecraft is now on its way to its appointment with comet Hartley 2 this fall.
LIVING (OR NOT) WITH A HOT JUPITER
Monday, June 14th, 2010We really don’t know the rate at which Jupiter sucks up asteroids and comets, or for that matter the space debris impact rates across the solar system.
Halley’s Comet and Others May Be Stolen Goods
Friday, June 11th, 2010Famous comets such as Halley, Hale-Bopp and McNaught may have formed around other stars and been snatched into orbit around the sun back when it was packed closely with hundreds of other stars, according to new simulations.
New Comet Visible in Early Morning Sky
Friday, June 11th, 2010A recently discovered comet is surprising skywatchers by becoming brighter than predictions had first suggested and can now be seen with the unaided eye during the next few weeks.
Comet’s Collision with the Sun Captured in 3-D
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010A comet plunging into the sun has been captured in 3-D as it hurtled along its kamikaze path for the first time, solar physicists announced Monday.
Where comets emit dust
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010Studying comets can be quite dangerous – especially from close up. Because the tiny particles of dust emitted into space from the so-called active regions on a comet’s surface can damage space probes.
Stardust primed for second comet fly-by
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Stardust, the first unmanned spacecraft to return comet samples to Earth, has been successfully aligned for its second and possibly final mission: to deal with NASA’s unfinished business.
Kepler Spacecraft May Be Able to Spot Elusive Oort Cloud Objects
Saturday, February 20th, 2010A reservoir of comets deep in the outer reaches of the solar system has so far escaped direct detection
NASA’s WISE satellite spots a new, big comet
Thursday, February 18th, 2010A NASA satellite launched in December to scan the universe for objects near and far is proving its worth, turning up objects in the inner solar system.
Comet impacts explain Ganymede-Callisto dichotomy
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010Planetary scientists have long pondered the reasons for the vastly different surface and interior states of the outer Galilean satellites Ganymede and Callisto, but new research suggests that differences in the number and speed of cometary impacts could be to blame.
The Great Daylight Comet of 1910
Thursday, January 14th, 2010Exactly 100 years ago this week, a comet of almost unrivaled brilliance burst onto the celestial stage. The comet’s approach had been masked in daylight until its growing luster pierced the light of dawn, outshining Mercury at its brightest and unfurling a gossamer tail against a azure twilight sky.
Our atmosphere came from outer space
Monday, December 14th, 2009Comets from outer space may have created Earth’s atmosphere – not volcanoes spewing out gases from deep within the planet.
Kansas scientists probe mysterious possible comet strikes on Earth
Monday, December 14th, 2009An investigation by the University of Kansas’ Adrian Melott and colleagues reveals a promising new method of detecting past comet strikes upon Earth and gauging their frequency
Comet Theory Faces Mammoth Confusion
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Nothing kills a beautiful theory faster than an ugly fact, to paraphrase Thomas Huxley. But what happens when you have three competing theories and two new facts that point in opposite directions?
North America comet theory questioned
Friday, October 16th, 2009An independent study has cast more doubt on a controversial theory that a comet exploded over icy North America nearly 13,000 years ago, wiping out the Clovis people and many of the continent’s large animals.