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Comets

Comets are remnants from the early days of the solar system, billions of years ago. Primarily made of ice and dust, these "dirty snowballs" orbit the sun and in habit the Oort cloud, an area in the outskirts of the solar system beyond Pluto. As comets approach the inner solar system, solar wind from the sun can sweep dust back into a long tail. When these comets are close enough to Earth, they can appear as dazzling objects in the night sky. Space probes from Earth have visited several comets to learn more about their composition. Learn more about comets, icy wanderers in the solar system.

Related Topics: Asteroids, Meteors, Shooting Stars and Fireballs, Rosetta Spacecraft, Stargazer Photos 

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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this view of the interstellar object Comet 2I/Borisov on Oct. 12, 2019.

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Interstellar Comet Borisov (Video)

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA's venerable Hubble Space Telescope turned its eyes to interstellar visitor Comet 2I/Borisov and caught a surprise: The interloper looks a lot like comets from our own solar system.

The first color image of the comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), which astronomers believe to be the first known interstellar comet ever identified, was captured by the Gemini North telescope at Hawaii's Mauna Kea. Gemini North acquired four 60-second exposures in two color bands (red and green). The blue and red lines are background stars moving in the background.

Interstellar Comet Borisov Looks Pretty Normal, New Observations Suggest

By Meghan Bartels

Observations of the interstellar Comet Borisov have been flooding in for six weeks, and the more astronomers duplicate one another's work, the more confident they are in their analysis of the object.

An artist's illustration of the centaur Chiron, which may have rings or orbiting dust structures.

Centaurs Rising: NASA Eyes Missions to Weird Asteroid-Comet Hybrids

By Mike Wall

The Centaurs may get their first-ever close-up soon.

The first color image of the comet 2I/Borisov, the first known interstellar comet ever identified, was captured by the Gemini North telescope at Hawaii's Mauna Kea. Gemini North acquired four 60-second exposures in two color bands (red and green). The blue and red lines are background stars moving in the background.

Gas Molecule Identified on Interstellar Comet for 1st Time

By Mike Wall

For the first time ever, astronomers have taken the compositional measure of an interstellar interloper.

An image of a protoplanetary disk and black gaps marking where planets are formed, as captured by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array telescope in Chile.

'Oumuamua and Borisov Are Just the Beginning of an Interstellar Object Bonanza

By Meghan Bartels

Astronomers are only now getting the hang of spotting interstellar objects, space debris that fled another solar system to swing through ours.

An image of 2I/Borisov captured on Sept. 24, 2019, in Italy.

It's Official! Suspected Interstellar Comet Borisov Is from Beyond Our Solar System

By Meghan Bartels

A comet spotted at the end of August is officially an interstellar object, according to the International Astronomical Union.

Small, icy bodies travel through a gateway region of space where they turn into comets.

Newfound Cosmic 'Gateway' Funnels Small, Icy Objects to the Inner Solar System

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

Beginning as small, icy bodies on the outskirts of the solar system, comets turn into spectacular streaks of light when they pass through a "gateway" near Jupiter.

The first color image of the comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), which astronomers believe was born in another solar system, was captured by the Gemini North telescope at Hawaii's Mauna Kea. Gemini North acquired four 60-second exposures in two color bands (red and green). The blue and red lines are stars moving in the background.

We Could Chase Down Interstellar Comet Borisov by 2045

By Mike Wall

We could get an up-close look at our solar system's latest interstellar interloper a quarter century from now if we so desired, a new study suggests.

Observations of what scientists believe to be the first interstellar comet ever identified.

First Glimpses of Interstellar Comet Suggest It's Not So Different

By Meghan Bartels

Astronomers are rushing to study what appears to be the first known interstellar comet — and in some of the very earliest observations, it looks oddly familiar.

A 30-second exposure of the newly identified comet captured by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in early September 2019.

Interstellar Comet: Here's Why It's Got Scientists So Pumped Up

By Meghan Bartels

Karen Meech wouldn't credit Comet C/2019 Q4 with good timing. But when faced with a chance to study the first known interstellar comet, by golly you take it.

The first color image of the comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), which astronomers believe to be the first known interstellar comet ever identified, was captured by the Gemini North telescope at Hawaii's Mauna Kea. Gemini North acquired four 60-second exposures in two color bands (red and green). The blue and red lines are background stars moving in the background.

1st Color Photo of Interstellar Comet Reveals Its Fuzzy Tail

By Elizabeth Howell

Astronomers took the first multicolor images of a potentially interstellar comet, and it looks spectacular.

A depiction of the path of Comet C/2019 Q4, which may be the second interstellar object detected to date.

This Comet Might Be from Interstellar Space. Here's How We Could Find Out.

By Meghan Bartels

At first, it was just another bright, fuzzy speck in the sky. But it may turn out to be something much more exciting: the second known object to hurtle through our solar system after leaving another.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) observed a comet dive directly into the sun on Aug. 15, 2019.

A Doomed Comet Just Fell Into the Sun. Here's the Video.

By Chelsea Gohd

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) observed a comet diving directly into the sun yesterday (Aug. 15).

A chunk of orbiting debris (circled) is visible in this view of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko taken by Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft in October 2015. Spanish astrophotographer Jacint Roger noticed the object in 2019, after going through Rosetta archival photos.

Meet 'Churymoon'! Photographer Spots Tiny Moon in 2015 Rosetta Comet Photos

By Mike Wall

Europe's Rosetta spacecraft wasn't the only object circling Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko back in 2015.

A graphic of the spacecraft's course to intercept the comet as it enters the inner solar system.

A Triple-Threat 'Comet Interceptor' Could Explore an Undiscovered Space Object

By Passant Rabie

ESA plans to intercept a comet entering our solar system

New research offers insight into how much of Earth's water came from long-ago comets.

How Did Earth Get Its Water? Scientists Now Look to 'Hyperactive' Comets for Clues

By Elizabeth Howell

Fresh observations of Comet 46P/Wirtanen, which swung by Earth in December 2018, suggest that more of Earth's water came from comets than previous studies suggested.

Every comet is unique, and its composition and location in space dictate whether it will shine spectacularly as it passes Earth or if it will fizzle out.

When Will We See Another Bright Comet?

By Joe Rao

Recently, a friend of mine asked when we might be able to see a comet. He was surprised when I said there are several visible right now.

A cat-looking view of Comet 67P from the Rosetta mission.

See a Comet Cat and Other Amazing Rosetta Views in This 70,000-Photo Archive

By Elizabeth Howell

Can you spot a cat in this cosmic image? This photo — just one of 70,000 available in a new Rosetta spacecraft image archive — has a cometary view that looks like a cat's face from side-on.

Scientists found the carbon-rich fragment of a comet embedded within a meteorite (at white arrow). The meteorite's colors can be seen by shining polarized light through a thin slice, and the grid lines show intervals of one millimeter.

Rare Comet Fragment Found Inside Rocky Meteorite

By Elizabeth Howell

Researchers have found a piece of a comet — an object made up of ice and dust — inside of a space rock known as a stony meteorite.

The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the impact of Shoemaker-Levy 9 fragment G with Jupiter on July 18, 1994.

How a Viral Comet Crash Into Jupiter Helped Popularize the Internet

By Meghan Bartels

A quarter century ago and thousands of miles away, a dramatic weeklong cosmic collision unfolded and helped the internet gain a foothold in people's lives.