Articles tagged as Comets | Smithsonian Magazine

In the early hours of the morning, Rosetta crashed into comet 67P in style

Updated: September 30, 2016 | Originally Published: September 29, 2016

Philae's final resting spot on the comet. If you look closely the robotic lander's raised leg can be seen in the middle of the image's right edge.

Photographs of the small probe come just weeks before the mission ends with Rosetta’s comet touchdown

September 6, 2016

Cool Finds

Look Up! The Perseid Meteor Shower Is Going to Be a Doozy This Year

The number of shooting stars could double this year

August 5, 2016

A Delta Aquarid meteor streaks across the sky.

Cool Finds

Keep Your Eyes to the Sky for the Delta Aquarid Meteors This Month

The late-July meteor shower heralds the popular Perseids

July 18, 2016

Perhaps it's best that this comet is billions of miles away from Earth.

Cool Finds

This Perfume Smells Like a Comet

Yum?

June 27, 2016

An Eta Aquarid meteor shower puts on a show in 2013 over the Canary Islands.

Cool Finds

Meteors Will Streak the Skies This Week Thanks to Halley’s Comet

Don’t miss this annual show

May 2, 2016

Avalanches may have triggered the jets of material spewing from Comet Hartley 2.

Avalanches on Comets May Help Make the Icy Bodies Visible

Tumbling rocks may have lit up Comet Hartley 2, allowing its discovery in 1986

April 20, 2016

Cool Finds

Amateur Astronomers Capture an Asteroid or Comet Colliding With Jupiter

The object recently exploded in the atmosphere of the solar system’s largest planet

March 30, 2016

The green object is the comet 252P/LINEAR as it passed by the Larger Megellanic Cloud.

This is the closest a comet has come in 246 years

March 21, 2016

An artist's impression of Philae's landing on Comet 67P. Philae is the small craft beneath the Rosetta orbiter. It detached from Rosetta and landed on the comet on November 12, 2014. Now it may be out of contact forever.

As Comet 67P hurtles further and further away, it’s taking the ‘little lander that could’ along with it

January 11, 2016

Geminid meteors streak across the sky behind a barn in western Iowa.

The meteor shower peaks next week as comet Catalina gets closer throughout the month

December 4, 2015

Wide-angle view of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko taken by OSIRIS on 12 September 2014

Cool Finds

Watch the Philae Lander’s Bouncing Touch Down on Comet 67P

A year after its crash-landing, researchers reflect on the unexpected successes of the mission

November 16, 2015

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) on 12 February 2015

New Research

Comet Lovejoy is One Boozy Space Rock

The greenish comet that lit up the sky last January releases as much alcohol as 500 bottles of wine every second during its peak

October 26, 2015

Here’s what the night sky has to offer this week

October 20, 2015

Clear skies and little moonlight make for great meteor watching

October 8, 2015

Trending Today

Watch the Perseids Peak This Week

Summer’s stunning meteor shower is sure to please stargazers

August 12, 2015

Philae snapped this image of 67P over a mile from the comet's surface.

New Research

Philae Proves There’s More to Comets Than Dust and Ice

The lander found organic compounds on comet 67P

July 31, 2015

A composite image of the Philae lander on comet 67P.

Comet Lander Philae Wakes Up From Nap

“Are you there, Rosetta? It’s me Philae”

June 16, 2015

Part of the comet's smaller lobe from about 8 km above the surface

New Research

Rosetta’s Comet Close-Ups Reveal Goosebumps And Very Little Ice

Rosetta is watching for changes as the double-lobed comet approaches the sun

January 23, 2015

Ten years ago this week, the Huygens probe gave scientists a first look at the icy surface beneath the haze of Saturn's moon Titan.

Best Space Photos of the Week

Best Space Photos of the Week: From Solar Flares to Saturn’s Moons

A spitting sun, a well-loved lake and a happy accident on Mars star in this week’s best space images

January 16, 2015