The Gaia mission has allowed researchers to understand the motions of stars like never before, even revealing possible interactions between our Solar System and nearby stars.
Oort Cloud
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Coma Volatile Composition And Thermal Physics In Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) Measured Near Closest Approach To Earth With NASA-IRTF
The 2023 perihelion passage of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) afforded an opportunity to measure the abundances and spatial distributions of coma volatiles in an Oort cloud comet at high spatial […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Considerations On The Process Of Target Selection For The Comet Interceptor Mission
Comet Interceptor is an ESA science mission with payload contributions from ESA Member States and with an international participation by JAXA. It is the first mission that is being designed, […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Interstellar, Status Report
On The Coincidence Between The Close Passage Of HD7977 And The Pliocene-Pleistocene Transition
The Oort Cloud’s dynamical evolution is significantly influenced by both the galactic tide and stellar flybys.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Interstellar, Status Report
Implications For The Formation Of Oort Cloud-like Structures And Interstellar Comets In Dense Environments
Most stars form in dense stellar environments, where frequent close encounters can strongly perturb and reshape the early architecture of planetary systems.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Status Report
The First Detection of Molecular Activity in the Largest Known Oort Cloud Comet: ALMA Imaging of C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli–Bernstein) at 16.6 au from the Sun
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 […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
A D/H Ratio Consistent With Earth’s Water In Halley-type Comet 12P From ALMA HDO Mapping
The D/H ratio in particular, helps reveal the relationship between (and heritage of) different H2O reservoirs within the Solar System. Here we present interferometric maps of water (H2O) and semiheavy […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Largest Oort Cloud Comet Ever Observed Reveals Its Secrets with ALMA’s Powerful Gaze
A team of astronomers has made a groundbreaking discovery by detecting molecular activity in comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)—the largest and second most distantly active comet ever observed from the Oort […]
Posted inAlpha Centauri, Comets and Asteroids, Interstellar, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Press Release
A Case Study of Interstellar Material Delivery: Alpha Centauri
Interstellar material has been discovered in our Solar System, yet its origins and details of its transport are unknown. Here we present α Centauri as a case study of the […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
An Estimate Of Resident Time Of The Oort Cloud New Comets In Planetary Region
We describe the result of our numerical orbit simulation which traces dynamical evolution of new comets coming from the Oort Cloud. We combine two dynamical models for this purpose.