Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3) is on the path of selfdestruction. It is set to pass through the sun's intensely hot corona, within 87,000 miles (140,000 km) of the solar surface. This point of closest approach, called perihelion, is expected at 7 p.m. EST Dec. 15
Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3) could become as bright as Jupiter or Venus when it "flames out," the glare of the sun will hide the event from human eyes. Solar observatories in space, however, will have a grand view. Yesterday the brightening comet entered the
With Geminid meteor shower, total lunar eclipse next week we are facing another event. Sungrazing comet C/2011 W3 heading toward Sun. Perihelion will come on December 16th at a point just 0.005652 astronomical unit from the Sun's center or about 186,200
The Geminids start appearing on Dec. 7 and should reach peak activity around the 13th and 14th. Up to 100 meteors per hour could be visible under good viewing conditions. But the presence of an 82% illuminated waning gibbous Moon from mid-evening until morning
According to the International Meteor Organization, this year’s Leonid meteor shower peaked on Nov. 18th with a maximum rate of ~18 meteors per hour. That’s not many (especially compared to the Leonid storms of a decade ago), but sometimes just one Leonid can be
The huge asteroid 2005 YU55 was small and dim in the sky during its close Earth approach yesterday (Nov. 8). At 1,300 feet (400 meters) wide, 2005 YU55 is about the size of a city block. It came within 201,700 miles (324,600 kilometers) of Earth Tuesday at 6:28
Those of us without access to the world's biggest radio telescopes still have a chance to spot 2005 YU55 as it zips past Earth. The asteroid will be brightest in the sky a few hours after its closest approach and should be visible with decent equipment under clear,
The asteroid 2005 YU55, which is about 400 meters (1,300 feet) in diameter, will make its closest approach to Earth at 23:28 UTC (23:28 GMT, 6:28 p.m. EST, 3:28 PST) today. At that point, the space rock will be traveling at about 46,671 km (29,000 mph) with distance
Discovered nearly six years ago by Robert McMillan at Steward Observatory’s Spacewatch Telescope in Arizona, 2005 YU55 has been this way before. In April 2010 it passed close enough for detailed radar probing by the giant radio dish at Arecibo, Puerto Rico. It
NASA radars are monitoring 2005 YU55, an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier, as it heads for a Nov. 8th flyby of the Earth-Moon system. There is no danger to our planet. At closest approach on Tuesday at 3:28 pm PST, the 400m-wide space rock will be 324,600
