Comets

Latest about Comets

An image of Halley's Comet taken in 1986.

Halley's Comet: Facts about history's most famous comet

By Elizabeth Howell published

The comet's frequent recurrence has played a part in historical events for millennia.

Comets
A view of Comet Leonard as seen over Australia.

Comet Leonard puts on a final, spectacular display with ion tail in solar wind

By Meghan Bartels last updated

Comet Leonard is slipping out of view, but not without putting on one last show.

Comets
The newfound comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) will reach perihelion, its closest point to the sun, on Jan. 3, 2022.

Comet Leonard makes its closest approach to the sun today, one year after its discovery

By Elizabeth Howell published

Comet Leonard shines brightly in images captured by a small Chinese satellite on the backdrop of aurora and passing meteors.

Comets
An image of Comet ISON shows a greenish tinge to the head, but not the tail.

Comets' heads may be green, but never their tails, study finds

By Samantha Mathewson published

Comets heat up very quickly as they approach the sun, causing the icy bodies to glow green, but never in the tails trailing behind them. A new study may finally reveal why.

Comets
Comet Leonard visible in an image captured by a small Chinese satellite on a backdrop of polar lights.

Comet Leonard shines amid aurora and meteor shower in stunning footage by Chinese spacecraft

By Andrew Jones published

Comet Leonard shines brightly in images captured by a small Chinese satellite on the backdrop of aurora and passing meteors.

Comets
Astrophotographer Chris Schur captured this stunning photo of Comet Leonard on Dec. 4, 2021 from Payson, Arizona using a 10-inch Newtonian telescope and 60-minute camera exposure.

Comet Leonard's discoverer explains how the unusual object was found

By Samantha Mathewson published

Discovered nearly a year ago, Comet Leonard is on its final tour of Earth's neighborhood, lighting up the night sky for viewers this holiday season.

Comets
NASA's STEREO-A satellite captured this view of Comet Leonard on Dec. 14, 2021.

'Outbursts' from Comet Leonard spotted by NASA satellite (video)

By Rahul Rao published

NASA's STEREO-A satellite caught this view of Comet Leonard as it continued to streak into the inner solar system in December.

Comets
Comet Leonard shines bright in this image from the European Space Agency's Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre using the Calar Alto Schmidt telescope in Spain. It was created by stacking 90 5-second exposure images of the comet taken on Dec. 7, 2021 on top of each other.

Comet Leonard, the brightest of the year, is fading and acting strange

By Meghan Bartels last updated

Something strange is happening to skywatchers' most anticipated comet of the year.

Comets
An artist's depiction of Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein.

Giant comet was active way farther from the sun than expected, scientists confirm

By Samantha Mathewson published

One of the largest comets ever discovered was active long before scientists had expected, according to NASA's industrious planet-hunting telescope.

Comets
Comet 67P, the famous target of the Rosetta mission, has made its closest approach to Earth in November 2021.

Rosetta's 'rubber ducky' comet makes closest approach to Earth, will disappear for 200 years

By Tereza Pultarova published

Comet 67P, which famously hosted the first-ever cometary lander in 2014, made its closest approach to Earth on Friday (Nov. 12).

Comets
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