Astronomy, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 13, 2022

Largest comet ever seen has a heart 'blacker than coal,' and it's headed this way

Astronomers have measured the icy heart of one of the largest comets ever discovered — a gargantuan, 4 billion-year-old rock that's currently barreling toward Earth at 22,000 mph (35,000 km/h). Don't worry: The enormous, icy rock — named C/2014 UN271, or Bernardinelli-Bernstein (BB) after its discoverers — is on course...

May 26, 2022

Shattered comet could produce dazzling meteor shower: How to watch the tau Herculids

A once lost, crumbling comet could deliver a brand-new meteor shower to Earth next week. The shower, which has been called the tau Herculids, is set to fall from the shattered SW3 comet beginning May 30 and peaking on May 31 between 12:45 p.m. and 01:17 a.m. EDT, lighting up...

Jun 3, 2022

Watch the biggest-ever comet outburst spray dust across the cosmos

The dust trail from the largest comet outburst ever seen will grace the skies this summer — and it’s going to look like a giant hourglass. The night show will come courtesy of comet 17P/Holmes, which in October 2007 let off a huge flash of gas and dust, brightening by...

Jul 14, 2022

A giant comet will swoop by Earth tonight. Here's how to watch it live.

One of the farthest active comets ever spotted makes its closest approach to Earth today, July 14, and you can catch the action live online. Comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), called K2 for short, is finally making its way into view of Earth after the first spotted by the Panoramic Survey...

Sep 16, 2022

Blazing comet tail is whipped by solar winds in astonishing astronomy photo

An ethereal image of Comet Leonard traveling against the solar wind has taken the top prize in the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest. Austrian photographer Gerald Rhemann caught the view of the comet and its sweeping tail on Christmas Day, 2021 from Namibia. Rhemann’s image reveals...

Dec 2, 2022

Massive eruption from icy volcanic comet detected in solar system

A bizarre, volcanic comet has violently erupted, spewing out more than 1 million tons of gas, ice and the potential building blocks of life into the solar system. The volatile comet, known as 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann (29P), is around 37 miles (60 kilometers) wide and takes around 14.9 years to orbit the...

Jan 12, 2023

Rare green comet not seen since the Stone Age will zoom overhead tonight. Here's how to watch.

On Feb. 1, a comet called C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will pass by Earth for the first time in 50,000 years, meaning the last time it cruised by our planet, Homo sapiens were still sharing the planet with Neanderthals. And according to calculations from astronomers, the comet will never come back....

Jan 23, 2023

Stunning images capture the moment a green comet's tail is blasted away by the sun

A rare green comet passing through our solar system for the first time in 50,000 years received a warm welcome from the sun this week... perhaps too warm. Images captured by Michael Jäger, an amateur astronomer based in Austria, reveal a huge spike of gas disconnecting from the comet's tail...

Jan 25, 2023

Optical illusion gives rare green comet an ‘anti-tail’ that seemingly defies physics

A rare green comet, which has been streaking across the night sky as it approaches Earth for the first time since the Stone Age, briefly grew a bizarre third tail. This anti-tail appeared to streak in the wrong direction, seemingly breaking the rules of physics. The comet — named C/2022...

Jan 30, 2023

Green comet C/2022 E3 will make its closest approach to Earth in 50,000 years this week. Here's how to watch.

On Feb. 1, a bright-green comet named C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will make a close approach to Earth for the first time in 50,000 years. Swooping within 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of our planet, the comet will offer a rare night-sky spectacle last seen when modern humans shared our...

Jan 31, 2023

How to watch the rare green comet whiz past Earth tonight

A comet with a greenish glow will make its closest approach to Earth since the age of the Neanderthals tonight (Feb. 1 to 2), and if you look in the right place at the right time, you might be able to spot it. The comet, known as C/2022 E3 (ZTF),...

Mar 4, 2023

Bright new comet discovered zooming toward the sun could outshine the stars next year

A newly discovered comet may appear as bright as a star in the night sky by fall 2024. The comet, known as C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), was first noted by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope project in South Africa on Feb. 22, according to the Minor Planet Center....

Mar 8, 2023

'Missing link' for Earth's water found around remote baby star

Astronomers studying a remote baby star have found a missing link that could finally explain the origins of water on Earth, a new study suggests. By training a powerful radio telescope at V883 Orionis, a protostar 1,300 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Orion, astronomers have spotted gaseous water...

Apr 14, 2023

In a 1st, scientists predicted that volcanic comet was due to pop 'like a Champagne bottle' — and it did

Astronomers recently rejoiced after witnessing a bizarre volcanic comet erupt like a Champagne bottle, spraying gas and ice through the solar system like sparkling wine. The unusual explosion was a cause for celebration because, for the first time, the researchers successfully predicted it was going to happen. The volatile comet,...

Jul 27, 2023

City-size comet headed toward Earth 'grows horns' after massive volcanic eruption

An unusual volcanic comet flying toward the sun appears to have grown horns after it exploded, causing it to shine like a small star and shower supercold magma into space. It is the first time this comet has been seen erupting in almost 70 years. The comet, named 12P/Pons-Brooks (12P),...