Comets - News on Probes, Missions and Encounters

Scientists think that comets are remnants from the early days of the solar system, millions of years ago. Learn more about comets, icy wanderers in the solar system.

Filter by Type

Your Selection All Articles Countdowns Image Albums Infographics Quizzes References Wallpapers

Gravity Assist Podcast: The Kuiper Belt, with Alan Stern

March 20, 2018 | Article

What's the next stop for NASA's New Horizons spacecraft? Jim Green finds out as he talks to the mission's Principal Investigator, Alan Stern.
Read More
Something Violent Happened to Our Solar System's First Interstellar Visitor

February 13, 2018 | Article

An interstellar object called 'Oumuamua has confounded astronomers ever since it passed through our solar system in October of last year.
Read More
Astronomers Detect a Swarm of Tiny Objects Orbiting an Alien Sun

February 05, 2018 | Article

These dusty comets, speeding through distance space, are the smallest objects ever detected in another star system.
Read More
Rare Carbon-Monoxide Comet Turns Blue in Stunning Deep-Space Photos

February 02, 2018 | Article

A rare carbon-monoxide comet turns deep blue as it whizzes through the inner solar system in a series of images by astrophotographer Chris Schur.
Read More
The Puzzle of 'Tabby's Star': 9 NASA Explanations for Star's Odd Dimming

October 24, 2017 | Countdown

A rundown of the different hypotheses NASA has for explaining the mysterious "Tabby's star," which exhibits strange dips in brightness.
Read More
Comets: Facts About The 'Dirty Snowballs' of Space

October 23, 2017 | Reference

Learn about the composition and orbit of comets, as well as the history of their discovery, famous comets and space missions to analyze them.
Read More
Life on Earth May Have Started with a Cosmic Splash

October 04, 2017 | Article

Could the building blocks for life on Earth have been delivered by meteorites crashing into ponds of water 4 billion years ago?
Read More
Surprise! Scientists Recover Rosetta Spacecraft's Last Photo of Comet 67P

September 29, 2017 | Article

Nearly a year after the Rosetta spacecraft intentionally crashed into a comet, the mission's scientists have discovered a new surprise: the very last image Rosetta took before its cosmic demise.
Read More
Awesome Comet Close-Ups from Rosetta Probe Available for Download (Video)

September 27, 2017 | Article

A set of stunning images available for download shows what it's like to ride up close and personal to a comet.
Read More
3D Stellar Map: Neighboring Stars Could Disturb Solar System in Distant Future

September 16, 2017 | Article

ESA's new time-lapse video shows that close-by stars have the potential to cause disturbances to the solar system as they travel through our galaxy in the next hundreds of thousands of years.
Read More