Tag: Meteorites

Interesting Astronomy & Astrophysics news from the week of 10/11/2020

Next week’s night sky: On Wednesday, the Orionids Meteor Shower peaks! The remnants of Halley’s comet created this shower. The best time to watch these meteors is between midnight and dawn. Then, shower will reach rates of 10-20 meteors per hour. To find the shower, look to the southwest. Friday is the first quarter moon. This is the best time to see the lunar terrain, as the low-angled sunlight dramatically lights the lunar surface.. Betelgeuse may not be so far away New research suggests the red supergiant […]

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All about comets, meteorites, and asteroids

So what really are the differences between a comet, a meteorite, and an asteroid? What is a comet? A comet is a collection of gas and dust that is frozen together in deep space. These objects spend most of their lives in clouds with other comets. However, sometimes a stray comet gets pulled into a closer orbit around the sun. When that happens, something spectacular happens! The comet starts to melt, shooting off two enormous tails: one made of dust, the other, gas. Most of the time […]

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