Almost every day, the SWAN instrument aboard the sun-watching SOHO spacecraft makes a map of the sky. Anyone with internet access them maps and join the search for new comets. To date, 12 comets have been spotted in the SWAN data! Source: https://earthsky.org/space/discovery-comet-swan-solar-watcher-soho…
Tag: ATLAS
Will you see Comet SWAN?
Another comet – Comet SWAN – is creating a buzz. There’ve been some amazing long-exposure photos of it. Will you be able to see it? Maybe, but conditions are challenging. Charts and more here. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/comet-c-2020-f8-swan-how-to-see-charts…
Sun-watching spacecraft just might fly through tail of Comet ATLAS in rare encounter
Last month, Comet ATLAS shattered skywatchers' hopes of a brilliant display when it began crumbling — but scientists have spotted a new opportunity to study its rubble. Source: https://www.livescience.com/solar-orbiter-may-fly-through-comet-tail.html
ESA spacecraft might accidentally fly through the tail of a comet
The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft was launched earlier this year to study the sun, but it could soon be flying through the tail of comet ATLAS and may be able to study the icy object Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2243509-esa-spacecraft-might-accidentally-fly-through-the-tail-of-a-comet/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Comet Swan Is Visible To the Naked Eye and Passing By Earth Tonight
Comet Swan could deliver on the promise of a rare night sky show that Comet Atlas failed to provide. “Already, Swan could be visible to those with exquisitely dark skies and sharp eyes,” reports CNET. “Others might also be able to spot it with binoculars.” From the report: Astronomer Con Stoitsis said some predictions show the comet continuing to brighten in…
Whoa! Comet ATLAS got brighter this week
Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) was getting brighter. Then, sadly, the Hubble Space Telescope caught it apparently disintegrating. Now … surprise. Veteran comet observer Terry Lovejoy reported earlier today that the comet is brightening again! Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photo-comet-atlas-brightening-may-5-to-may-9-2020…
NASA’s Perseverance rover spacecraft put in launch configuration
Engineers working on NASA’s Perseverance rover mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida have begun the process of placing the Mars-bound rover and other spacecraft components into the configuration they’ll be in as they ride on top of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The launch period for the mission opens on July 17—just 70 days from now. Source:…
Breakup of comet ATLAS
The Hubble Space Telescope has provided astronomers with the sharpest view yet of the breakup of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS). Source: https://earthsky.org/space/breakup-comet-atlas-c2019-y4-hubble-image-april2020…
Hubble captures breakup of comet ATLAS
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided astronomers with the sharpest view yet of the breakup of Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS). The telescope resolved roughly 30 fragments of the fragile comet on 20 April and 25 pieces on 23 April. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-04-hubble-captures-breakup-comet-atlas.html…
ATLAS Experiment measures the ‘beauty’ of the Higgs boson
Two years ago, the Higgs boson was observed decaying to a pair of beauty quarks (H→bb), moving its study from the “discovery era” to the “measurement era.” By measuring the properties of the Higgs boson and comparing them to theoretical predictions, physicists can better understand this unique particle, and in the process, search for deviations from predictions that would point to…