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Tag: Comets

  • Rosetta Spacecraft Successfully Reactivated

    The European Space Agency (ESA) today announced that the Rosetta spacecraft has successfully reactivated. The probe has been traveling in a suspended state beyond the orbit of Jupiter since June 2011.

    Rosetta’s internal alarm functioned as planned and the spacecraft was able to reboot itself this morning before sending a signal to Earth. Later this year the spacecraft will approach comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as it soars toward the sun.

    “We have our comet-chaser back,” says Alvaro Giménez, director of Science and Robotic Exploration at ESA. “With Rosetta, we will take comet exploration to a new level. This incredible mission continues our history of ‘firsts’ at comets, building on the technological and scientific achievements of our first deep space mission Giotto, which returned the first close-up images of a comet nucleus as it flew past Halley in 1986.”

    Rosetta will be the first spacecraft to attempt a landing on the surface of a comet. The spacecraft will provide data on the Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet for over one year, giving researchers plenty of data with which to uncover the objects’ mysteries.

    Rosetta is expected to rendezvous with the comet in August. In the meantime, researchers will be checking the spacecraft’s systems and readying it for a “major maneuver” that will take place in May.

    Image via ESA-C.Carreau

  • Fate of Comet ISON Still Undetermined

    Fate of Comet ISON Still Undetermined

    More than one week on from comet ISON‘s close approach to the sun, astronomers are still working hard to determine what exactly happened to the object.

    The comet approached the sun on November 28 after traveling for millions of years from outside our solar system. NASA and ESA researchers used a wide array of instruments to capture the comet’s approach, including NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. For several hours during the comet’s approach astronomers were not able to observe the object due to the sun’s brightness, and many had assumed that the comet had disintegrated due to its proximity to the sun. However, NASA and ESA instruments were able to catch a glimpse of what was left of the comet on its way out of its approach.

    Following its approach, astronomers observed a glint that was far less bright than the comet had been in the days previous to the approach. In the days since the object has faded away to almost nothing. Researchers are now trying to work out whether the remainder seen after approach was the ice core of the comet that survived or whether it was simply reduced to debris by that time.

    NASA today stated that researchers are continuing to research exactly what happened while the comet was out of view. What can be confirmed already is that the comet shrank “considerably” during its approach and that at this time it is likely only dust.

    Astronomers are hoping that the vast amount of data collected on ISON will provide new discoveries for years to come. A video of the comet’s approach and the aftermath was released this week by NASA. The footage comes from the NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):

  • As ISON Has Fizzled, Comet Lovejoy Remains Visible

    Comet ISON has faded from sight, again, and astronomers are not expecting it to light up again. ISON rounded the sun yesterday at 18:45 UTC/ 1:45 p.m. EST, and appeared to be disintegrating. Some hold out hope it will show itself again, but nobody knows for sure.

    But as ISON fades, another comet is quietly showing its tail, the Lovejoy Comet.

    The newest comet was discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy, hence the name, in December 2011.

    In late November, Comet Lovejoy was near the bottom of the handle of the Big Dipper.

    Comet Lovejoy, designated C/2013 R1 was found to the southeast of the constellation Orion and 1,600 times too faint to be seen without a scope.

    Now, the new comet is brightening as it heads toward the sun and will arrive at its closest point on Dec. 22 at a distance of 75.4 million miles away from Earth. This is when Comet Lovejoy will be most visible by the naked eye.

    While it is en route to its Dec. 22 rendezvous with the sun, Lovejoy will make its closest approach with Earth on Tuesday, when it will pass within 36.9 million miles of us.

    The Big Dipper should be your guide for seeing Comet Lovejoy, and although it’s not certain it will be visible without binoculars or telescope, due to the moon’s cycle, it will be best to view on Sunday night. Stargazers will be able to locate Comet Lovejoy, just before dawn.

    Comet Lovejoy and Comet ISON will pass each other between Dec. 18 and 20. They won’t get much closer than 10 degrees from one another, and Lovejoy should be just a faint, fuzzy blob, while observers hope that Comet ISON will have evolved into a lovely celestial showpiece by then.

    Image via NASA