comet

Rare comet to streak across night sky. Here’s how you can see it

2:30pm October 10, 2024

Your unusual chance to see a comet in the sky is here. C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was discovered by astronomers in 2023 — and will appear to the naked eye over the next couple weeks.

How to see a newly discovered green comet this week, before it vanishes for 400 years

10:42pm September 11, 2023

by Linah Mohammad

A newly discovered green comet is zipping by Earth and is now visible for the first time since before Galileo invented his telescope.

An artist's vision of the first interstellar object discovered in the solar system, 'Oumuamua.

Science

Scientists think they know why interstellar object 'Oumuamua moved so strangely

9:48pm March 22, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A strange comet-like object discovered over five years ago was the first known visitor from another solar system. Its movement was so odd that scientists struggled to explain it, until now.

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These images show how comet C/2014 UN271's nucleus was isolated from a shell of dust and gas (a coma) surrounding the solid nucleus. At left is a photo of the comet taken by the Hubble telescope on Jan. 8. A model of the coma (middle) was obtained by fitt

Science

The Hubble telescope confirms the largest comet nucleus ever seen by astronomers

4:51pm April 13, 2022

by Deepa Shivaram

The comet, known as C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein), has an estimated diameter of about 80 miles. That's bigger than Rhode Island and about 50 times larger than the heart of most comets.

Comet Neowise passes St. Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, U.K., in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Science

Good News: This Comet Won't Cause A Mass Extinction In 2020. Also, It's Really Pretty

9:14pm July 15, 2020

by Geoff Brumfiel

The celestial visitor should be visible just after sunset for anyone who wants to see it. Bring along the binoculars for an even better view.

The 46P/Wirtanen comet, as seen through a telescope in France on Dec. 3, is currently making an unusually close pass by Earth. It will be visible, if weather allows, until Dec. 22.

Science

Green 'Christmas Comet' Visible In Night Sky

11:29am December 17, 2018

by Camila Domonoske

The comet 46P/Wirtanen just made its closest approach to Earth in centuries. No word on the whereabouts of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Cupid, Donner or Blitzen (and Rudolph).

The "Snow Moon"during the peak of the penumbral lunar eclipse on Friday night, as seen from Orlando, Fla.

PHOTOS: Green Comet, 'Snow Moon' And Eclipse Make For A Space Trifecta

12:54pm February 11, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Between a penumbral eclipse, a full moon and even Earth's closest comet encounter in over 30 years, there's been no lack of lovely sights at night this week. In case you missed them, here's a look.

Rosetta's mission control specialists at the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany, were jubilant on Jan. 20, 2014, after getting back the first signals that their mission's probe had "woken up" on the comet's surface.

Scientists To Bid A Bittersweet Farewell To Rosetta, The Comet Chaser

10:24pm September 29, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

To cap its 12-year scientific voyage, the Rosetta spacecraft will take a final plunge Friday. Scientists will signal Rosetta to crash into the surface of a comet — and gather data all the way down.

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Photos taken on Friday, from more than a mile and a half from the comet, show Philae's three-foot-wide body and two of its three legs. The April 2015 image on the top right shows the comet overall, with the approximate location of Philae marked with a red

Silent, But Not Lost: Philae Lander's Final Resting Place Located On Comet

1:12pm September 05, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The lander was the first to ever set down on a comet — but couldn't get enough sunlight to recharge its batteries, and went into hibernation. New images show Philae stuck in a crack.

Onlookers take cell phone pictures of stranded window washers hanging from scaffolding on the side of One World Trade Center.

Comet Lander, Firefighters Execute Dazzling Feats Above The Earth

10:21am November 15, 2014

by Scott Simon

The sky was full of wonders this week, NPR's Scott Simon muses, as a spacecraft landed on a comet and two window washers were rescued 69 stories above the streets at the new One World Trade Center.

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