Tianwen, which means "questions to heaven," is the name given to China's program of robotic Solar System exploration. Tianwen ...

Comets are icy bodies that orbit the Sun, often referred to as ‘dirty snowballs’. Learn about their composition, formation, ...

Scientists have discovered a comet traveling one way out of the solar system after a close encounter with Saturn. The comet, designated Comet A117uUD (A117uUD), was only discovered on June 14 ...

A new member of the solar system has been detected, the second-largest of its kind, suggesting there may be more like it ...

In a new study my colleagues and I published in December 2024, we discovered two classes of these elusive dark comets The solar system is teeming with small bodies such as comets and asteroids.

In a new study my colleagues and I published in December 2024, we discovered two classes of these elusive dark comets. The solar system is teaming with small bodies such as comets and asteroids.

China has launched its most ambitious deep space mission yet. On Wednesday, the Tianwen-2 probe lifted off atop a Long March ...

Lovejoy likely hails from the Oort cloud, a distant shell of icy objects thought to surround the solar system. It’s one of the roughly 4,000 known comets among the billions estimated to exist in ...

Meteors from the Eta Aquariids, known for their speed and created from space debris originating from Halley's comet, will zoom across the sky as the shower peaks.