Comets
Latest about Comets
![NASA's STEREO-A satellite captured this view of Comet Leonard on Dec. 14, 2021.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cCup2PPdwDxfHQxMTLJoF6-320-80.gif)
'Outbursts' from Comet Leonard spotted by NASA satellite (video)
By Rahul Rao published
NASA's STEREO-A satellite caught this view of Comet Leonard as it continued to streak into the inner solar system in December.
![Comet Leonard shines bright in this image from the European Space Agency's Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre using the Calar Alto Schmidt telescope in Spain. It was created by stacking 90 5-second exposure images of the comet taken on Dec. 7, 2021 on top of each other.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/snRDFvv2fK57TkyYQDwUw5-320-80.jpg)
Comet Leonard, the brightest of the year, is fading and acting strange
By Meghan Bartels last updated
Something strange is happening to skywatchers' most anticipated comet of the year.
![An artist's depiction of Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ca3L2yg9pwF5QBLb7LneaL-320-80.png)
Giant comet was active way farther from the sun than expected, scientists confirm
By Samantha Mathewson published
One of the largest comets ever discovered was active long before scientists had expected, according to NASA's industrious planet-hunting telescope.
![Comet 67P, the famous target of the Rosetta mission, has made its closest approach to Earth in November 2021.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nRtYbufeMVRzc3YAp7gqQB-320-80.gif)
Rosetta's 'rubber ducky' comet makes closest approach to Earth, will disappear for 200 years
By Tereza Pultarova published
Comet 67P, which famously hosted the first-ever cometary lander in 2014, made its closest approach to Earth on Friday (Nov. 12).
![Dark silicate glass is seen against the Atacama Desert in northern Chile.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gYnEkUp3Q8mxVBWmxD4SRK-320-80.png)
Massive comet exploding over Chile 12,000 years ago may have created strange glassy rocks
By Meghan Bartels published
Be grateful you weren't in what is now Chile's Atacama Desert 12,000 years ago.
![An image of Comet 29P taken a few days after one of its super-outbursts.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/icqSWwY2B8iRNrD6xnprN7-320-80.jpg)
This mysterious comet's super-bright outbursts have astronomers puzzled
By Tereza Pultarova published
One of the strangest comets in the solar system has been erupting with unpredictable bright outbursts since late September and nobody knows why.
![AN illustration of the massive comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/723Lq7SopFnyBoMQBvA2sN-320-80.jpeg)
After 3.5 million-year hiatus, the largest comet ever discovered is headed our way
By Brandon Specktor published
Scientists have analyzed the enormous Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet, and predict it will come within 11 AU of Earth in the next 10 years.
![Since there aren't any images of the Greenland fireball, here's an illustration of a space rock burning up as it enters Earth's atmosphere.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MAuFJpioP3QRFWNLuEjzLE-320-80.jpeg)
32,000 mph fireball spotted soaring over North Carolina
By Ben Turner published
The fireball’s bright streak was captured by a neighborhood porch camera.
Get the Space.com Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!