Comets

The next full Moon will be Friday evening, Jan. 6, 2023, at 6:08 PM EST. The Moon will appear full from Thursday evening through Sunday morning.

NASA approves development of NEO Surveyor for a launch no later than June 2028.

To most of us, dust is an annoyance. But these tiny particles that float about and settle on surfaces play an important role across the solar system.

The path through the solar system is a rocky road. Asteroids, comets, Kuiper Belt Objects—all kinds of small bodies of rock, metal and ice are in constant motion as they orbit the Sun. But what’s the difference between them? Why do these miniature worlds fascinate space explorers so much?

Learn more about the growing population of near-Earth objects with NASA’s new 3D real-time web-based application.

The new system improves NASA's capabilities to assess the impact risk of asteroids that can come close to our planet.

JPL's lucky peanuts are an unofficial tradition at big mission events.

It's suspected that about 5,000 years ago a comet swept within 23 million miles of the Sun, closer than the innermost planet Mercury.

Models and lab tests suggest the asteroid could be venting sodium vapor as it orbits close to the Sun, explaining its increase in brightness.

Comet 46P/Wirtanen was releasing an unusual amount of alcohol as it made its historic flyby of Earth two and a half years ago.

A one-time visitor to our inner solar system is helping explain more about our own origins.

A wayward young comet-like object orbiting among the giant planets has found a temporary parking place along the way.

As Chile and Argentina witnessed the total solar eclipse on Dec. 14, 2020, a little tiny speck was flying past the Sun – a recently discovered comet.

When scientists downlinked data from Parker Solar Probe's sixth orbit, there was a surprise waiting for them: a sungrazing comet.

The next full Moon will be on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 1, 2020. The Moon will appear full from Wednesday morning through Saturday morning.

NASA instruments aboard ESA's Rosetta mission helped reveal that comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has its own aurora.

This is the first time Hubble has photographed a comet of this brightness at such resolution after this close of a pass by the Sun.

The Earth has one less asteroid to worry about thanks to the research of an international team of scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

The next full Moon will be midday on Monday, August 3, 2020.

In the fall of 2022, NASA’s DART spacecraft will reach its destination: asteroid Didymos and its small moonlet Dimorphos.

ISS is seen in this 10 second exposure above comet NEOWISE, Saturday, July 18, 2020, from Keys Gap, West Virginia.

On July 9, 2020, astronaut Robert Behnken captured an image of comet NEOWISE from the International Space Station.

For those hoping to catch a glimpse of comet NEOWISE, there are several observing opportunities in the coming days.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was at the right place at the right time to capture a unique view of comet NEOWISE.

A comet visiting from the most distant parts of our solar system is putting on a spectacular nighttime display.