Philae, the probe that landed on a comet as part of the Rosetta mission, has detected organic molecules in the comet’s atmosphere. We don’t know exactly what the molecules are yet, but they could hold a key to early life on Earth. Hell, this is a big reason we sent Rosetta all the way to a lonely comet in the first place. Read more…
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Rosetta’s Lander Has Found Organic Molecules on a Comet
Christopher Becke, a high school physics teacher, made this outstanding size comparison showing what the Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko would look like next to famous spacecrafts from science fiction. His images show the comet next to ships from Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly and Battlestar Galactica. Read more…
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A size comparison of the comet 67P with popular sci-fi spaceships
Listen to it! That’s Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko singing. This cosmic song was just discovered by the European Space Agency, which released the soundtrack for our enjoyment. It’s totally new and unexpected, say the scientists who will remotely land a probe on the rocky surface of the comet tomorrow. Read more…
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Rosetta’s Comet Is Singing and You Can Listen To It Here
A comet spotted earlier this year may pass close enough for Mars to feel the rock’s hot breath down its neck, according to new reports that surfaced Monday and Tuesday. The comet, named C/2013 A1, may pass within a few tens of thousands of miles of Mars’ center, with a remote chance that the miles-wide comet will collide with the planet. C/2013 A1 “Siding Spring,” a comet between 5 and 30 miles wide, was spotted January 3 by astronomer Robert H. McNaught. Researchers were able to look back in the image history of the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona and spot signs of the comet as early as December 8, 2012. NASA states that other archives have traced sightings back to October 4, 2012. According to scientists at NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office , Siding Spring originates from the Oort Cloud of our Solar System and has been journeying to this point for more than a million years. In less than two years, around October 19, 2014, the comet will pass very close to Mars. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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Newly spotted miles-wide comet bearing down on Mars