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In 1908, the Siberian region of Tunguska saw no less than 830 square miles of its forests flattened down in one of the largest explosions the world had ever seen. Since day one, experts around the world hypothesized that the devastation occurred either on account of a secret Russian nuclear test, or because a comet h... |
25 June 2009
13:01 GMT |
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Hair driers have been around for quite some time now. We're sure that few of you know that the hair drier was invented in the 19th century by Alexandre F. Godefoy, and had a rather primitive design, with little (in fact – none) portability whatsoever. Sometime during the 20's, this very helpful gadget... |
29 April 2009
12:06 GMT |
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The prevalent concept has it that every 100 million years or so, stars come close enough to our solar system for them to crash on the multitude of objects in the Oort cloud and place them on a course towards our planetary system. But a team of Swedish researchers argued that the rate of the star-created comets is not... |
12 December 2008
10:11 GMT |
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Almost a decade ago, we were accustomed to seeing strong meteor showers sported by the Leonids. They were really impressive back then, but of late they have reduced in size, rate and awesomeness, with a small exception provided this year, when the fireball display took astronomers by surprise. Still, it's hardly... |
5 December 2008
10:20 GMT |
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A peculiar comet by the name of Machholz 1 was found more than two decades ago, in 1986, by Donald Machholz from Loma Prieta, California. So far, experts determined that, judging by its abnormal chemical composition, which requires assigning it to an entirely new category, it must have arrived here from somewhere wel... |
3 December 2008
08:34 GMT |
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Possibly, Drake's equation should also take into account the factor of comet activity in the environment of the planets that could actually support life. New statistics suggest that our own solar system is far more spared by such cosmic catastrophes than the similar nearby ones, so we own our very existence, to ... |
1 December 2008
04:55 GMT |
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Those of you who enjoy gazing at the sky are in for a treat tomorrow, and a week after tomorrow, as the so-called Taurid meteors will provide a great meteor shower show. The meteors are rocky and dusty fragments of a once larger body, diving into Earth's atmosphere at incredible speeds, while the heating of thei... |
4 November 2008
07:29 GMT |
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Nine years ago, scientists launched a space probe in order to collect material from a comet formed at the far edges of our solar system. Surprisingly, they found out that the comet was comprised of particles similar to those forged in the proximity of the sun. The Stardust probe had been launched from Cape Cana... |
19 September 2008
09:01 GMT |
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As Rosetta, the ESA (European Space Agency) space probe launched in 2004, marched on towards its destination, the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet, it sent its first images back to Earth. As it turns out, the images are of the Type E asteroid known as Steins, a 5 km-wide rock in the shape of a diamond, brighter ... |
8 September 2008
10:54 GMT |
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There are numerous comets orbiting through the inner solar system, but where this huge amount of objects comes from is largely unknown. Now astronomers have suggested that many short orbit comets could in fact be fragments of much larger objects that break up into multiple pieces as they enter the inner solar system ... |
28 July 2008
06:05 GMT |
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On June 30, 1908, at about 7:00 a.m., a cosmic body entering Earth's atmosphere exploded several kilometers above ground in a remote region of Siberia, known as Tunguska, leveling more than 80 million trees spread over an area of 2,000 square kilometers. Estimations place the force of the explosion to about 200 ... |
23 July 2008
03:51 GMT |
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A new study shows that the massive explosion of a comet into Earth's atmosphere during the last Ice Age might have rained diamonds and precious metals over the North American continent, leading to the mass killing of both animals and humans alike. In fact, most of the diamonds and precious metal deposits in seve... |
8 July 2008
03:14 GMT |
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Europe's comet chaser, the Rosetta spacecraft, was powered up last week in anticipation for the fly-by around asteroid 2867 Steins scheduled to take place on September 5th, 2008. Rosetta was originally designed and launched in order to approach and study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with which the spacec... |
7 July 2008
03:30 GMT |
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The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory was first designed for a mission destined to study the Sun and its activity, which is what it still continues to do after nearly 13 years since it was launched into space by the European Space Agency. Who would have thought back then that SOHO would later become the biggest come... |
1 July 2008
02:47 GMT |
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An international collaboration between scientists from the United States, Germany and Japan concluded its investigation recently with the discovery of a new mineral compound of manganese silicide, named Brownleeite, which probably originated from a periodical comet that passes through the inner regions of the solar s... |
13 June 2008
05:40 GMT |
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Asteroid and comet collisions usually bring havoc to Earth, often provoking mass extinctions, but they can also seed life. In fact, we're most likely the product of such an event that took place several hundred million years ago. The last large impact that occurred is dated about 65 million years in the past and... |
15 May 2008
10:02 GMT |
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As it travels through the Milky Way, the Sun experiences a periodical oscillation in relation to the galactic plane, meaning that the solar system intersects with some of the densest areas of the galaxy. This in turn can send comets and asteroids our way and determine catastrophic impacts with the Earth, such as that... |
13 May 2008
09:31 GMT |
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You know how they say you'll never find what you're actually looking for? It's true, don't try to prove otherwise because I don't think you can. Last year during late October, comet Holmes suddenly suffered an outburst, thus enhancing its brightness more than one million times in the matter o... |
4 April 2008
03:33 GMT |
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Meteor showers occur on Earth every year. Some individual meteors streaming through the Martian atmosphere have been observed as well, however this is the first time when a full meteor shower is detected. By tracking the paths of the comets passing through the vicinity of Mars, UK scientists believe that they can pre... |
2 April 2008
04:59 GMT |
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Add water, a mix of complex chemical substance, sunlight and you might eventually end up creating life. And don't forget about adding meteorites! Only if things were so easy. Previously, scientists believed that the primordial soup, from which the first living being emerged, was formed of ingredients found only ... |
13 March 2008
11:20 GMT |
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The Stardust mission brings surprising new evidence once again. After the initial sample analysis revealed that most of the material inside comet Wild 2 originated in the inner regions of the solar system, now scientists have shown that, against general belief that comets are fluffy dust objects, they could instead h... |
25 January 2008
03:46 GMT |
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The comet responsible for the Ursid meteor shower taking place every late December, 8P/Tuttle, made its closest approach to Earth on January 2nd this year. However, its swing through the inner regions of the solar system brought it only about 37 million kilometers away from Earth, too great a distance to conduct opti... |
16 January 2008
02:52 GMT |
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Being the eighth comet ever recognized as to be periodical, the comet Tuttle should be visible in the next two weeks without the aid of optical instruments. Having an orbital period of 13.7 years, the comet 8P/Tuttle is one of the brightest of the short-period comets. Furthermore, while watching after Tuttle, you sho... |
5 January 2008
06:49 GMT |
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The asteroid responsible for the Geminid meteor shower which takes place every December, 3200 Phaethon, made its closest passing through the vicinity of the planet Earth since its discovery in 1983. The event, which took place on the 10th of December last year, was anticipated by the Arecibo Observatory, which point... |
3 January 2008
04:39 GMT |
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The past civilizations on Earth mostly regarded the comets as messengers of destruction and rarely as bringers of good or prosperity, while the scientists today think they might have played a key role in the formation of our planet and view them as carriers of possible information about the galaxy, and the formation ... |
27 December 2007
05:15 GMT |
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When it comes to asteroids size really doesn't mater, as they can hit Earth's atmosphere with forces similar to those of bigger cousins. This information is even more baffling when you take into consideration that in our effort to detect the biggest threats posed by asteroids to Earth we have been unable to... |
19 December 2007
05:00 GMT |
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After studying the 8P/Tempel comet, in order to determine its density, structure and composition characteristics, the Deep Impact spacecraft has recently been redirected on a trajectory that will take it on a two and a half years trip, to rendezvous with the Hartley 2 comet around the year 2010. Originally, the space... |
17 December 2007
08:08 GMT |
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Launched in January 2005, the Deep Impact space probe was the first spacecraft ever to probe the interior of a comet's nucleus, by sending a impactor slamming right into it. Previous missions such as Giotto and Stardust were employed only to make fly-by passes through the vicinity of the nucleus of the comets th... |
14 December 2007
06:31 GMT |
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As its name says, the Geminid meteor shower originates from a point close to the Gemini constelation, near the Castor star, and represents one of the most satisfying annual meteor showers, in some years even surpassing the famous Perseids meteor shower that occurs in the month of August. It is triggered by the passin... |
14 December 2007
04:11 GMT |
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The Ursids meteors shower usually begins on the 17th of December every year, and lasts for more than a week, until 25th or 26th of December. Its name comes from the point where it seems to radiate, which is somewhere near the star Beta Ursae Minor, in the constellation of Ursa Minor, also known as the Little Dipper. ... |
13 December 2007
07:45 GMT |
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This year, the Geminid Meteor Shower will peak on the night of 13-14 December, and is thought to make quite a show on the night sky, or as astronomers David Levy and Stephen Edberg would say, 'if you haven't seen a Geminid fireball, then you haven't seen a meteor'. This particular meteor shower ge... |
7 December 2007
10:10 GMT |
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Leonid Meteor Shower is associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle. The event gets its name from the region of the sky, from which the meteors seem to radiate, since they stream down to Earth from a single point. The meteor shower takes place every year around the date of 17th of November, plus or minus a week, when the... |
16 November 2007
09:17 GMT |
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Last weekend, the Minor Planet Center announced they detected a Near Earth Object that would miss the Earth only by 5,600 kilometers. The newly discovered object, has been given an official name by the MPC, run by Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. 2007 VN84 was tracked by a number of astronomers around the world... |
13 November 2007
03:50 GMT |
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Five months after reaching perihelion, Holmes comet produces its second ever observed and recorded outburst in history. The comet has enhanced its brightness about one million times in only a few weeks. Discovered in 1893 by British astronomer Edwin Holmes during a similar outburst, the comet is about 3.3 kilometers ... |
6 November 2007
07:15 GMT |
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Are you ready? You will not see this again until next year: Halley's comet will bring forth the magnificent Orionid meteor shower at its peak this week. The show is triggered by fragments of this "king star" amongst other comets. You could see these days 15 or 20 meteors an hour by the naked eye. The Orionid sho... |
19 October 2007
05:08 GMT |
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Something that was witnessed for the first time by astronomers wreaked havoc in space: the impact between a comet and a solar hurricane. The cosmic crash was captured by a NASA Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) satellite on April 20 and cut off the Encke comet's plasma tail while moving within Mer... |
8 October 2007
03:34 GMT |
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This weird space object observed repeatedly plunging close to the Sun has been puzzling astronomers: is it a comet or an asteroid? Now, it seems like a comet playing the asteroid. P/2007 R5 was first detected passing near the Sun in 1999 and spotted again in 2003 by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) space... |
27 September 2007
05:27 GMT |
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Only a skilled space driller like Bruce Willis could have saved the mammoths and Ice Age Americans about 12,900 years ago. Scientists tried to explain the mammoths' disappearance by human overhunting, climate change and disease, but there is an increasingly plausible hypothesis stating that a comet or low-densit... |
25 September 2007
04:33 GMT |
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Some think they are actually a star. Some think they are comets. Astronomers have just found a distant star that moves through space at enormous speeds and has a huge, comet-like tail. The tail is colossal, 13 light years in length and was detected by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (Galex) space telescope. Mir... |
17 August 2007
03:00 GMT |
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Now we have Bruce Willis to save us, but 13,000 years ago, the Americans didn't have their hero to save them from the Armageddon they experienced. New proof brought by a team from the University of California at Santa Barbara shows that a large comet may have exploded over North America 12,900 years ago, explain... |
16 August 2007
04:52 GMT |
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This comet is one of the few that really spawned some controversy regarding the possibility of a collision with Earth and was even classified as having "a non-zero possibility of impact." This means it could hit our planet or the Moon, sometime around 3044, or at least that is what astronomers thought about four dec... |
17 July 2007
06:31 GMT |
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Each new piece of a comet brings scientists closer to understanding some of the most important events in the Universe and a recent analysis indicates that many comets may be related to one another, even more than previously thought.Comets are celestial bodies that orbit stars like our Sun and are well known for thei... |
12 July 2007
09:02 GMT |
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Two old space probes just received new assignments, after they had fulfilled their original missions. Deep Impact and Stardust are the two robotic space travelers that NASA decided to reactivate and send to chase Comet Tempel 1.Deep Impact is a NASA space probe launched on January 12, 2005 that was designed to stud... |
4 July 2007
02:48 GMT |
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A group of scientists discovered new compelling evidence of a cataclysmic event that took place 13,000 years ago on Earth. A large comet exploded over the Earth and created a hail of fireballs that set most of the Northern Hemisphere on fire.After analyzing 26 different sites in Europe and North America, they found ... |
21 May 2007
08:42 GMT |
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Saturn's moon, Titan, has a strange atmosphere, and astronomers are very interested in finding the source of the phenomena that led to the forming of the only nitrogen-rich mix of gases in the solar system. From this point of view, the atmospheric mixture is somewhat close to that of the Earth in complexity.Tita... |
17 May 2007
15:46 GMT |
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On Sunday, a meteor shower will occur when fragments dragged along by Halley's Comet will enter and burn in the night sky. Called the eta Aquarid meteor shower because their radiant appears to lie in the constellation Aquarius, near one of the constellation's brightest stars, Eta Aquarii, they are not exa... |
5 May 2007
06:05 GMT |
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