Tag Archives: comet

Blog 5: Comets

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Comets are relatively small bodies in our solar system comprised of dust, rock, gases, and ice. They are remnants from the formation of the solar system, and their solid bodies, or nuclei, can range from a few miles to dozens of miles wide. When its orbit gets close to the sun, this nucleus heats up […] Continue reading →

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C/2014 UN2071: Largest Discovered Comet

Posted on April 17, 2022 by evang914

Scientists in the past week have confirmed the size of the largest comet ever discovered. It is measured to stretch over 80 miles wide (wider than the state of Rhode Island) and weigh 500 trillion tons- 100,000x more than the typical comet. The comet was originally discovered back in 2014 when it was still 3Continue reading “C/2014 UN2071: Largest Discovered Comet” Continue reading →

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Comet Swift-Tuttle

Posted on April 21, 2021 by miichellewang

Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle (which is unfortunately not named after Taylor Swift) is just one of the several thousand comets that are known to astronomers. The “P” in its name stands for “periodic comet”, which means that it has an orbital period of less than 200 years. It was separately discovered in 1862 by Lewis Swift andContinue reading “Comet Swift-Tuttle” Continue reading →

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The Journeyman of ALL Comets

Posted on April 13, 2021 by joeangella13

In the past few weeks, scientists have revealed a major discovery about details from a comet that we have now identified came from an entirely different Solar System! This comet has been deemed as, “more pristine,” than any other comets examined by scientists, simply from the properties of its origin. (Independent) The comet has beenContinue reading “The Journeyman of ALL Comets” Continue reading →

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Comets as Omens of the Future

Posted on April 7, 2019 by bobbyc

Comets have been noticed by ancient civilizations for millenia, and, like many other celestial bodies, were viewed as omens of the future. Comets in particular were considered bad omens. The most famous example is Halley’s Comet, seen in 1066 by the English and theorized to have been an omen for Harold II of England’s death. … Continue reading Comets as Omens of the Future Continue reading →

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Halley’s Comet

Posted on April 7, 2019 by richardtli

In 2061, Halley’s Comet will return to pass by Earth in 75-year long round trip across the solar system. But what else do we know about this mysterious visitor? Studying the reports of comet sightings in 1531, 1607, and 1682, Edmond Halley deduced that these comets were in fact the same one and that it … Continue reading Halley’s Comet → Continue reading →

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The Comet Time Forgot… Until Now

Posted on April 27, 2017 by vmorehead0

A stone carving at a major archaeological site suggests a comet struck Earth thousands of years ago and started an ice age. Göbekli Tepe is an archaeological site located in modern-day Turkey.  Built before Stonehenge, it served as an ancient temple site and religious center where multiple people would gather, but it also seemed to have been an astronomy … Continue reading The Comet Time Forgot… Until Now Continue reading →

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The Hale-Bopp Comet

Posted on April 3, 2017 by pkunetz97

Comet Hale-Bopp, also known as the The Great Comet of 1997, was a comet that appeared in – you guessed it – 1997. It was first discovered in 1995 by both Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp, after whom it was named. It was first visible in mid 1996, but did not reach its brightest until […] Continue reading →

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Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Nick Belsten

In 1994, one year after its discovery, the fragmented remains of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter’s upper atmosphere in a sequence of 23 large impacts, each releasing the energy equivalent of 25,000 megatons of TNT, more than one million times as much energy as released by the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Orbital analysis … Continue reading Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 → Continue reading →

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The Importance of Spectroscopy in Solar System Exploration

Posted on February 14, 2017 by njelinek425

While the very existence of visible light allows for the viewing of celestial bodies, not enough credit is oft given to the true capability of light’s full spectrum. Spectroscopy is an imaging and scientific method of measurement that involves the unique spectra that occur when light comes into contact with an object or substance of […] Continue reading →

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