Comet

Astronomers spot tantalizing large molecule near star with ‘comet factory’

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Astronomers spotted the largest molecule yet found in a planet-forming disk, which they say will tell us more about the origin of life. The molecule, dimethyl, is a precursor to organic molecules like methane that in some cases may be indicative of life. The team also may have found methyl formate, which is deemed a … Read more

Largest comet ever observed bumps Hale-Bopp from pedestal

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The Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet, identified in 2021, is officially the biggest comet ever observed.  The new record, reported on the preprint website arXiv and now accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters, bumps the Hale-Bopp comet from the top spot. Hale-Bopp was discovered in 1995 and became visible to the naked eye in … Read more

An 85-Mile-Wide Comet Is Officially The Largest Comet Ever Observed

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The Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet, identified in 2021, is officially the biggest comet ever observed. The new record, reported on the preprint website arXiv and now accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters, bumps the Hale-Bopp comet from the top spot. Hale-Bopp was discovered in 1995 and became visible to the naked eye in 1996; it … Read more

Comet impact may have triggered decline of Ohio’s Hopewell people 1,600 years ago

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Astronomy and anthropology have blended to help determine what might have triggered the decline of a major North American society 1,600 years ago.  A vibrant culture lived in the Ohio Valley from about 200 BCE to 300 CE. These people were the ancestors of many modern Native American tribes, such as the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and … Read more

13,000 Years Ago, a Firestorm Covered 10% of Earth’s Surface, Triggering an Ice Age

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At a point some 12,800 years ago, a tenth of Earth’s surface suddenly became covered in roaring fires. The firestorm rivalled the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, and it was likely caused by fragments of a comet that would have measured around 100 kilometers (62 miles) across.   As dust clouds smothered Earth, they … Read more

Biggest comet from outer solar system ever seen is 137 kilometres wide

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Astronomers have calculated the size of a ‘mega comet’ originating in the Oort Cloud, a cluster of icy bodies that surrounds our solar system Space 4 February 2022 By Jonathan O’Callaghan Illustration of the comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein as it might look in the outer solar system NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva Astronomers have confirmed that a “mega comet” … Read more

A Cosmic Airburst May Have Devastated a Vast Native American Culture 1,500 Years Ago

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More than 1500 years ago, a vast culture known as the Hopewell tradition (or Hopewell culture) stretched across what is today the eastern United States.  The cause of the culture’s decline has long been debated, with war and climate change two of the possibilities, but now a new avenue of inquiry has opened up: debris from a … Read more

Europe’s sun mission flew through the tail of Comet Leonard

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As Comet Leonard bid farewell to Earth and flew past Venus, a sun-studying spacecraft flew through the comet’s long tail, giving humans a new perspective on the icy wanderer. Discovered last January and also known as Comet C/2021 A1, Comet Leonard was perhaps the most spectacular visitor for skywatchers in 2021. The object put on … Read more