comet: search

Alien Comet May Have Infiltrated the Solar System

New Scientist has a piece about Comet Machholz 1, whose uncommon molecular composition suggests, but does not prove, that it may be an interloper from another star system. "Comet Machholz 1 isn't like other comets. David Schleicher of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, measured the chemical makeup of 150 comets, and found that they all had similar levels of the chemical cyanogen (CN) except for Machholz 1, which has less than 1.5% of the normal level. Along with some other comets, it is also low on the molecules carbon-2 and carbon-3."

Odd Comet Possibly from Another Star System

The bizarre chemical make-up of a comet suggests the blob of ice is an interloper, possibly flung into our solar system from beyond, astronomers now say, adding that the wacky comet is forcing them to create a new category for such objects.

More Evidence For a Clovis-Killer Comet

fortapocalypse sends word that a new paper was published today in the journal Science on the hypothesis that a comet impact wiped out the Clovis people 12,900 years ago. (We discussed this hypothesis last year when it was put forth.) The new evidence is a layer of nanodiamonds at locations all across North America, at a depth corresponding to 12,900 years ago, none earlier or later. The researchers hypothesize that the comet that initiated the Younger Dryas, reversing the warming from the previous ice age, fragmented and exploded in a continent-wide conflagration that produced a layer of diamond from carbon on the surface. While disputing the current hypothesis, NASA's David Morrison allows, "They may have discovered something absolutely marvelous and unexplained.

Has an alien comet infiltrated the solar system?

Comet Machholz 1 isn't like other comets. David Schleicher of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, measured the chemical makeup of 150 comets, and found that they all had similar levels of the chemical cyanogen (CN) except for Machholz 1, which has less than 1.5% of the normal level. Along with some other comets, it is also low on the molecules carbon

Comet Threat More Constant Than Thought

It certainly captures the imagination: a star passing silently by our solar system knocks a deadly barrage of comets towards Earth. However, recent simulations by one group of researchers has shown that these star-induced comet showers may not be as dramatic as once thought.

Comet smashes triggered ancient famine

MULTIPLE comet impacts around 1500 years ago triggered a "dry fog" that plunged half the world into famine.

Scientists Say Comet Triggered Extinctions

A comet struck North America 13,000 years ago, triggering massive flooding and fires followed by a short ice age, researchers said Friday.

Scientists say comet triggered extinctions

A comet struck North America 13,000 years ago, triggering massive flooding and fires followed by a short ice age, researchers said Friday.

Scientists say comet triggered extinctions

A comet struck North America 13,000 years ago, triggering massive flooding and fires followed by a short ice age, researchers said Friday.

Odd Comet Possibly from Another Star System

This image taken by the ESA-NASA sunwatching spacecraft SOHO reveals Comet Machholz 1 close to the sun on Jan. 8, 2002. SOHO's coronograph hid the bright sun, the size of which is shown by the inner ring. Credit: SOHO/LASCO (ESA & NASA).

Europe launches comet-chasing spacecraft

Rosetta, the European spacecraft that will chase down and land on a comet in search of clues to the origins of the Solar System and life, finally began its 12-year mission today after a series of delays.

Tiny Diamonds Support Comet Theory

Scientists have long blamed climate change for the mass extinction of animals that took place in North America almost 13,000 years ago. Now some researchers say a comet broke apart and burned the landscape and many of the creatures living on it. The proof is "nanodiamonds," microscopic diamonds they've found in the soil across the continent.

Diamonds Suggest Comet Aftershock Killed Mammoths

New research, published recently in the journal Science, seems to point at the fact that saber tooths, mammoths, giant sloths and camels, as well as the Clovis culture, were driven into extinction by a 1,300 year-long cold spell, triggered by numerous comet impacts in 6 states across the northern US and several in southern Canada.

Lowell Observatory astronomer confirms new class of comets

Comet 96P/Machholz 1's anomalous compositional characteristics help pinpoint its origin to one of three intriguing scenarios. David Schleicher, Lowell Observatory planetary astronomer, measured abundances of five molecular species in the comae of 150 comets and discovered that one comet, 96P/Machholz 1, has an unusual chemistry. The cause of this chemical anomaly remains unknown, but each of three possible explanations yield important but differing constraints on the evolution of comets.

A new class of comets

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Comet 96P/Machholz 1 shows extremely anomalous compositional characteristics helping pinpoint its origin to one of three intriguing scenarios. David Schleicher, Lowell Observatory planetary astronomer, measured abundances of five molecular species in the comae of 150 comets and discovered that one comet, 96P/Machholz 1, has an extremely unusual chemistry. The exact cause of this chemical anomaly remains unknown, but each of three possible explanations will yield important but differing new constraints on the formation or evolution of comets. The study is published in the November issue of the Astronomical Journal.

NASA's Swift looks to comets for a cool view

Swifts UltravioletOptical Telescope (UVOT) captured Comet 73PSchwassmann-Wachmann 3s fragment C as it passed the famous Ring Nebula (oval bottom) on May 7 2006. Swift watched as the crumbling comet left dusty blobs behind. Credit: NASASwiftStefan Imm ...

Swift Detects X-Ray Emissions from Comets

Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) captured Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3's fragment C as it passed the famous Ring Nebula (oval, bottom) on May 7, 2006 (NASA)Things appeared to get a little strange in the field of X-ray astronomy when the NASA/ESA ROSAT observatory started seeing emissions from a series of comets. This discovery in 1996 was a conundrum; how could X-rays, more commonly associated with hot plasmas, be produced by some of the coldest bodies in the Solar System? In 2005, NASA's Swift observatory was launched to look out for some of the most energetic events in the observable Universe: gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and supernovae. But in the last three years, Swift has also proven itself to be an expert comet hunter.

Gems show comet hit continent, scientists say

(01-01) 19:07 PST -- Diamonds are generally considered a sign of love and devotion, but a thin layer of microscopic diamonds a couple of feet beneath the surface of North America represents a far more horrific tale - one of fire, flood and devastation that extinguished woolly mammoths and dealt a blow to early civilization, scientists reported today.

'Final proof' that comet wiped out mammoths

Sure, 2008 was bad. But for Americans it was nowhere near as bad as 11,000BC – according to research published in Science magazine yesterday.

Kaazing Founder Jonas Jacobi to speak on HTML 5, Comet, WebSocke

Bangalore, December 10, 2008: Web applications have traditionally been seen as second tier citizens in our network infrastructure, not capable of fully participating in the back-end message infrastructure due to its stateless architecture. The founder of Kaazing, Jonas Jacobi, is coming this summer to India's biggest summit for the developer ecosystem - Great Indian Developer Summit (http://www.developersummit.com/) to speak on HTML 5 WebSockets, the one innovation, in particular, that will enable full-duplex HTTP communication, and finally bring an end to the tired 'click and wait' paradigm traditionally associated with the Web, and allow browsers to become first class citizens in our network.

Nanodiamonds Hint At Clovis-Age Cosmic Event

A comet struck North America 13,000 years ago, triggering massive flooding and fires followed by a short ice age, researchers said Friday.

Scientists: Nanodiamonds Hint At Clovis-Age Cosmic Event

A comet struck North America 13,000 years ago, triggering massive flooding and fires followed by a short ice age, researchers said Friday.

NASA's Swift looks to comets for a cool view

Swift captured Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3's fragment C as it passed the famous Ring Nebula (oval, bottom). Credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler and Dennis Bodewits

Epoxi Spacecraft Soars Past Home

The NASA/JPL Epoxi spacecraft flew within 43,000 kilometers (26,700 miles) of Earth today. The Epoxi mission is scheduled to fly past comet Hartley 2 on Nov. 4, 2010.

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