We report observations of comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli–Bernstein) carried out on UT 2024 March 8 and 17 at a heliocentric distance (rH) of 16.6 au using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter […]
Comets and Asteroids
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Pre-perihelion Development of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
We describe pre-perihelion optical observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS taken during July – September 2025 using the Nordic Optical Telescope.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
TESS Discovers a Second System of Transiting Exocomets in the Extreme Debris Disk of RZ Psc
We present the TESS discovery of only the second system of transiting exocomets with a sufficient number of events to measure the size distribution in the RZ Psc system, enabling […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Prospects For The Crossing Of Comet 3I/ATLAS’s Ion Tail
During October – November 2025, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, will pass upstream of the Europa Clipper and Hera spacecraft.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
A Search For Coma In TESS Observations Of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
Using this extensive data set, we coadded more than 9000 images, in two groups, to look for extended coma that would unambiguously reveal cometary activity. The radial profiles in both […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Status Report
Pseudo-panspermia of Phosphorus Species on the Early Earth
In the Earth system, Phosphorus (P) does not form a single phase, but mostly combines into compounds forming multiple minerals. Phosphate (P+5) is the majority P species in the Earth’s […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
An Open-Access Web Tool for Light Curve Simulation and Analysis of Small Solar System Objects
We present a web-based application designed to simulate rotational light curves of small airless Solar System bodies under user-defined geometrical and physical conditions.
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Comparative Analysis of Polarization in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS with Distant Solar System Comets
We analyze polarimetric measurements of the interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS reported recently by Z. Gray et al. Comparison with distant solar system comets suggests no significant difference in the microphysics of […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Astrochemistry: Physicists Uncork A Message In A Bottle From Another Star
For millions of years, a fragment of ice and dust drifted between the stars—like a sealed bottle cast into the cosmic ocean. This summer, that bottle finally washed ashore in […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
ExoMars And Mars Express Observe Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
Between 1 and 7 October, ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Mars Express spacecraft turned their eyes towards interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, as it passed close to Mars.