The Story of a Comet Hunter (see also his web page which contains a link to the story of his discover of Comet Seki-Lines in 1962). Visual comet hunting has a long and intriguing history. Today visual hunters are adapting their ways to make visual discoveries in an age of automated searches. The amateur can still win. Now, ANYONE can discover a comet(?) Or perhaps 1000. A Guide for SOHO Comet Hunters. More SOHO and Sungrazing Comet Links. [Previously]
posted on Apr 18, 2008 - View this thread

New evidence (Nature) has been discovered in support (BBC) of the North American Comet Catastrophe of 10,900 BC (previously). "We think that there was probably an impact which exploded in the air that sent [meteorite] particles flying into the animals.. the fragments unlikely originated on Earth." The discovery was made by Allen West using a magnet at an Arizona motel during a sale of Mammoth tusks. "It was just a tiny magnet on a string, but very strong. It would swing over [mammoth tusks] and stick firmly to these little dots."
posted on Dec 16, 2007 - View this thread

On May 23, 2007 a multi-disciplinary team of scientists announced (YouTube, 70mins, 7-parts, part1-1 is a summary) the finding of physical evidence strongly suggesting that, around 12,900 years ago (10,900 BC), a massive Shoemaker-Levy type comet hit the atmosphere, air burst over the Great Lakes region of North America and probably engulfed much of the continent in a fireball and subsequent firestorm with catastrophic effects for life and climate.
posted on Oct 31, 2007 - View this thread

Here's an excellent map if you want to see Comet Holmes/17P tonight (the comet that, until a couple of nights ago you would have needed a pretty good-sized telescope to even see. Then (out of the blue, as it were) it unexpectedly brightened by over 1,000,000 times to become an easy object for your naked eye –even with the nearly full moon in the sky). I did not know about CalSky but (despite some less-than-attractive web design) is truly the best of the web for online astronomy info and sky maps!
posted on Oct 25, 2007 - View this thread

And now for something completely different: A star with a tail like a comet. (Cool pic). Don't know how we missed it. It's one of the most well-known stars in the sky and the tail is 13 light-years long, or about 20,000 times the average distance of Pluto from the sun.
posted on Aug 15, 2007 - View this thread

Have you ever wondered what a solar eclipse would look like from space? The STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) has just sent back its view (awe-inspiring video included). It has also sent back some gorgeous pictures of our sun (and the McNaught Comet). For more media, check out the other galleries (including some 3D images). For more about the project, see NASA's STEREO homepage. Be sure to also stop by the Johns Hopkins University STEREO Page, where you can download a mission guide (pdf), view animations, watch a video of the launch, or even make your own papercraft STEREO model (pdf). You can also learn more in six minute segments with their series of short educational videos.
posted on Mar 13, 2007 - View this thread

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is simply amazing.
posted on Feb 5, 2007 - View this thread

Comets have long inspired fear and it continues today. Nostradamus "prophesied":

Mabus then will soon die, there will come Of people and beasts a horrible rout: Then suddenly one will see vengeance, Hundred, hand, thirst, hunger when the comet will run.

But who is Mabus (Nostradamus' third antichrist)? Will the idea further inspire Muslim fundamentalists?
posted on Jan 11, 2007 - View this thread

NOW SHOWING: Nekkid-eye Comet McNaught (via MonkeyFilter)
posted on Jan 8, 2007 - View this thread

Stardust@home. The Stardust spacecraft (discussed recently here) should land in Utah early Saturday, carrying in its hold a sprinkling of grains of interstellar dust. Researchers are seeking the public's help in pinpointing the submicroscopic bits of dust. Participants will sift through the hundreds of thousands of pictures of the roughly square-foot collector plate.
posted on Jan 11, 2006 - View this thread

This weekend, NASA will order the Stardust spacecraft to jettison its 100-pound capsule that contains comet dust. The capsule will hurdle through earth’s atmosphere and make a soft landing in the Utah desert. Not directly connected to last summer’s Deep Impact, Stardust’s mission is to bring comet debris back to earth for study. Here’s hoping we don’t need the Wildfire lab.
posted on Jan 9, 2006 - View this thread

THWACK!  (NASA TV Live feed) This is just a heads up, only about 80 minutes until Deep Impact (NASA mission page) slams into comet Tempel 1. Recent discussion here.
posted on Jul 3, 2005 - View this thread

What are you doing for July 4th? I just found out I'll be working. Our spacecraft Swift is going to be observing comet Tempel1 at the time of the Deep Impact encounter. (Previous discussed here on MeFi 2 years ago.) We'll probably have images and movies first, but the first images you'll see after the encounter will likely come from either JPL or Hubble. You can't have Penn State scooping NASA.

Oh well, at least we will have a barbecue at work to celebrate. Our acting Mission Director during this time is a great bloke from MSSL. It is oddly appropriate to be celebrating the Fourth with a person from the UK.
posted on Jun 29, 2005 - View this thread

Close-up images of comet Wild 2 were taken by the Stardust spacecraft on Jan. 2, and NASA released 2 of them this week. The spacecraft flew within 149 miles of the comet, 242 million miles from Earth. Stardust has been overshadowed by the Mars Exploration Rover, but I find it just as impressive, if not even more so. Now I'm looking forward to the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, which will reach Saturn on July 1.
posted on Jan 8, 2004 - View this thread

Deep impact. NASA scientists want to know what the pristine inside of a comet looks like. What better way, then, than by blowing a 25-meter crater in one? Comet Tempel 1, to be specific. Even better, send them your name and they'll put it on a disc attached to the impactor spacecraft, which will be launched on December 30, 2004. It'll hit on the 4th of July, 2005.
posted on May 13, 2003 - View this thread

The Rosetta Project In Spaaaace. Agh, it's a great concept... I just wish they'd made the text something a little more secular. The aliens will probably take it all too literally.
posted on Jan 13, 2003 - View this thread

Giant asteroid hurtling toward your planet? Don't know what to do? Don't call Bruce Willis. Just build a giant airbag and nudge the sucker away.
posted on Aug 30, 2002 - View this thread

Let us prepare for impact. A group of scientists is working on a standardized protocol for dealing with the possibility of a comet or massive asteroid striking the Earth, saying humans can do more than the dinosaurs ever could before a colossal impact precipitated their extinction 65 millions years ago.
"We have now overcome the giggle factor."
I don't know if we have........
posted on May 7, 2001 - View this thread