Comets
Latest about Comets
![This image from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) shows dust trapped in the disk surrounding the system Oph-IRS 48.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ha4QrBuW8saCQ9ptwMiDyU-320-80.jpg)
Astronomers spot tantalizing large molecule near star with 'comet factory'
By Elizabeth Howell published
Astronomers spotted the largest molecule yet found in a planet-forming disk, which they say will tell us more about the origin of life.
![An image taken by the Dark Energy Survey shows Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein in October 2017.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/M5FJSXZS4pCHJwXUPHG46A-320-80.jpeg)
Largest comet ever observed bumps Hale-Bopp from pedestal
By Stephanie Pappas published
The Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet is officially the largest ever observed, according to new measurements.
![Comet ISON, as photographed by the TRAPPIST national telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory on Nov. 15, 2013.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3ua8gP8PahY9YDVLLa44wZ-320-80.jpg)
Comet impact may have triggered decline of Ohio's Hopewell people 1,600 years ago
By Doris Elin Urrutia published
Researchers think that comet fragments may have exploded over Ohio 1,600 years ago, triggering a violent airburst and starting wildfires that devastated the Hopewell people's crops and the landscape.
![A set of superimposed images captured by the Solar Orbiter show Comet Leonard and its two tails in visible light.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cxS7pQdwVD6zz7rU69XShN-320-80.jpg)
European sun probe flew through the tail of Comet Leonard
By Meghan Bartels last updated
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.
![An image of Halley's Comet taken in 1986.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zzCKzkAndgXbTKNoKCUqu9-320-80.jpg)
Halley's Comet: Facts about history's most famous comet
By Elizabeth Howell published
The comet's frequent recurrence has played a part in historical events for millennia.
![A view of Comet Leonard as seen over Australia.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BQiB9PdMBRXRMEnR7mUnLN-320-80.jpg)
Comet Leonard puts on a final, spectacular display with ion tail in solar wind
By Meghan Bartels last updated
Comet Leonard is slipping out of view, but not without putting on one last show.
![The newfound comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) will reach perihelion, its closest point to the sun, on Jan. 3, 2022.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KEqUFwGzWfpdPih9hTD7CW-320-80.jpg)
Comet Leonard makes its closest approach to the sun today, one year after its discovery
By Elizabeth Howell published
Comet Leonard shines brightly in images captured by a small Chinese satellite on the backdrop of aurora and passing meteors.
![An image of Comet ISON shows a greenish tinge to the head, but not the tail.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/R6eYn5bmcoHx6x4aCdvgfi-320-80.jpg)
Comets' heads may be green, but never their tails, study finds
By Samantha Mathewson published
Comets heat up very quickly as they approach the sun, causing the icy bodies to glow green, but never in the tails trailing behind them. A new study may finally reveal why.
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