27 Oct, 2018

Of the comets I've seen, no two were alike, ranging from a monster that, counting its coma of particles, was the biggest thing in the solar system, to a puny streak that -- once it had dipped out of view from the northern hemisphere -- turned into a dazzling spectacle with multiple tails. As NASA points out, comets are "dirty snowballs" that coalesced when the solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago, mostly "ice coated with dark organic material." The agency also describes them as

17 Oct, 2018

Earthlings should be treated to a beautiful holiday surprise in December, Comet Wirtanen 46P. Dr. P. Clay Sherrod, the researcher, educator and author whose Arkansas Sky Observatories are renowned as "America's oldest private research science and observatory facility," wrote, "As this comet is slowly closing in on perihelion this December 16 (closest pass by the sun) it will also swing closely by Earth four days later in December and it perhaps might be as bright as 3rd magnitude, or even a bit