Astro-Event: Will Comet McNaught Perform?

 
   During the month of June, keep your eye out for a pre-dawn visitor that may be the naked eye comet of the year. Comet McNaught C/2009 R1 starts the month out June 1st at about +8 magnitude near the star Beta Andromedae, and through the course of the month, skirts the constellations of Andromeda, Perseus, and [...]

16.05.10- Gliese 710: A Future Stellar Threat?

Gliese 710 inbound…(Credit: The Sloan Digital Sky Survey).
   Our quiet corner of the local galaxy may be in for a future interloper. A possible solar system side-swipe comes in the form of Gliese 710, an unassuming +10 magnitude orange dwarf star currently 63 light years distant in the constellation Serpens. As we swirl around the [...]

08.11.09:Does Cometary Mass Extinction Need to be Rewritten?

The disconnection event of comet 73P Schwassmann-Wachmann-3 as seen from the Hubble Space Telescope. (Credit: NASA/ESA/H. Weaver STScl.)

Comets are cause all mass extinctions in Earth’s history, right? Maybe not, if new research is correct. Simulations run by the scientists at the University of Washington now suggest that the giant planets of Jupiter and Saturn [...]