Comet news, features and articles

The latest and most violent eruption of the cryovolcanic comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which will make its long-awaited closest approach to Earth next year, shows that the icy object may have lost its iconic devil horns for good.

Researchers have simulated how comets pinballing from one planet to another could deliver critical organic molecules to exoplanets.

The massive volcanic comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which grows giant horns when it erupts, has exploded for a third time in five months as it continues to race toward the sun.

The cryovolcanic comet 12P/Pons–Brooks, which will make its closest approach to Earth next year, has re-sprouted its distinctive "horns" after its second major eruption in four months.

After surviving its closest approach to the sun, Comet Nishimura was buffeted by a possible coronal mass ejection that briefly blew its tail away. The rare event was captured by a NASA spacecraft.

Comet Nishimura, which was only discovered in August, has survived its closest approach to the sun and will brighten over the next week. But is it still visible from Earth?

The comet Nishimura, which was only discovered in August, will soon be slingshotted around the sun and back out toward the edge of the solar system where it will remain for centuries.

Comet Nishimura has a hyperbolic orbit, which suggests that it may have come from outside the solar system and will likely be catapulted into interstellar space after slingshotting around the sun.

The exploding comet, known as 12P/Pons–Brooks, is currently approaching its closest point to Earth during its 71-year orbit through the solar system.

Astronomers accurately predicted that the icy volcanic comet 29P would erupt after noticing changes in its brightness leading up to its latest explosion.