Comets - NASA Science
网页Comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock, and dust that orbit the Sun. When frozen, they are the size of a small town. When a comet's orbit brings it close to the Sun, it heats up and spews dust and gases into a giant glowing head larger than most planets.
NASA’s Webb Finds Water, and a New Mystery, in Rare Main Belt Comet
网页2023年5月15日 · Comet Read is a main belt comet – an object that resides in the main asteroid belt but which periodically displays a halo, or coma, and tail like a comet. Main belt comets themselves are a fairly new classification, and Comet Read was one of the original three comets used to establish the category.
Ancient Comet Makes Appearance - NASA
网页2 天之前 · NASA/Matthew Dominick. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured this timelapse photo of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from the International Space Station as it orbited 272 miles above the South Pacific Ocean southeast of New Zealand just before sunrise on Sept. 28, 2024. At the time, the comet was about 44 …
NASA’s Webb to Unlock the Mysteries of Comets and the Early …
网页2019年9月25日 · Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Arrives from Afar - NASA Earth …
网页1 天前 · Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Arrives from Afar. September 19, 2024 JPEG. Earth-based observers looking to the night sky may be treated to a once-in-80,000-years sight in autumn 2024. Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which likely traveled from the outer reaches of our solar system, made its closest transit past …
ESA/NASA’s SOHO Spies Bright Comet Making Debut in Evening …
网页1 天前 · The ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has captured images of the second-brightest comet to ever pass through its field of view during the spacecraft’s nearly 29-year career. The bright comet is C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which has been garnering a lot …
What Is a Comet? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
网页2024年9月27日 · What Is a Comet? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids. The Short Answer: Comets are large objects made of dust and ice that orbit the Sun. Best known for their long, streaming tails, these ancient objects are leftovers from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.
Hubble Confirms Largest Comet Nucleus Ever Seen - NASA Science
网页2022年4月12日 · NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has determined the size of the largest icy comet nucleus ever seen by astronomers. The estimated diameter is approximately 80 miles across, making it larger than the state of Rhode Island.
Ancient Oort Cloud Comet to Make First Documented Pass By ... - NASA …
网页2024年10月2日 · The Oort Cloud comet, called C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, was discovered in 2023, approaching the inner solar system on its highly elliptical orbit for the first time in documented human history.
APOD: 2024 October 6 – The Magnificent Tail of Comet McNaught
网页2024年10月1日 · Explanation: Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, grew a spectacularly long and filamentary tail. The magnificent tail spread across the sky and was visible for several days to Southern Hemisphere observers just after sunset. The amazing ion tail showed its greatest extent on long-duration, wide-angle camera exposures.