COBS News archive

Bright Comet suprise
September 12, 2025

A bright comet has emerged from behind the sun, surprising astronomers. Introducing, Comet SWAN25B

Interstellar Comet imaged during Lunar eclipse
September 09, 2025

On Sept 7th, darkness fell across the Kalahari Desert as Earth's shadow enveloped the full Moon. It was a total lunar eclipse--and the perfect time to photograph an interstellar comet. "We took advantage of the total lunar eclipse to take a deep image of Comet 3I/ATLAS under the dark skies of Namibia," says amateur astronomers Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann. Here is what they saw.

NASA’s Webb Space Telescope Reveals Secrets of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
September 02, 2025

Webb, Hubble, and SPHEREx are joining forces to study the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, revealing details about its structure and chemistry. The comet isn’t dangerous, but it’s offering scientists a rare chance to explore material from outside our solar system.

Our solar system has a new interstellar visitor: Meet 3I/ATLAS
August 30, 2025

Astronomers have spotted 3I/ATLAS, just the third interstellar object ever seen in our solar system. Bigger, faster, and possibly far older than ‘Oumuamua or Borisov, this icy traveler could help unlock clues about how other star systems formed billions of years ago.

Is 3I/ATLAS really a Comet?
August 27, 2025

The most intriguing mystery in astronomy today is the nature of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. Most astronomers believe it is a comet. However, iconoclast Avi Loeb of Harvard University makes the case that it might be something else--like alien tech.

Hubble just snapped the clearest-ever picture of a rare interstellar comet
August 19, 2025

Hubble has taken the clearest image to date of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which is racing through our solar system at 130,000 miles per hour. Astronomers are using Hubble and other telescopes to better understand its icy nucleus and chemical composition.

This interstellar comet may be a frozen relic from before the Sun
July 13, 2025

A newly discovered comet, 3I/ATLAS, may be the most ancient visitor ever detected, potentially older than our solar system itself. Unlike previous interstellar objects, this ice-rich comet seems to originate from the thick disk of the Milky Way, a region filled with ancient stars. First spotted in July 2025, it’s already showing signs of activity and could help scientists understand more about galactic chemistry and the origins of planetary systems.

Tycho Tracker: A comperhensive all‐in‐one tool for Comet photometry
May 30, 2025

In the latest issue of The Comet's Tail, the British Astronomical Association (BAA) highlights "Tycho Tracker: A Comprehensive All-in-One Tool for Comet Photometry," an article detailing a significant advancement in comet observation technology. Tycho Tracker emerges as a powerful software solution, streamlining the process of comet photometry for both amateur and professional astronomers.

More in recent issue of The Comet's Tale: https://britastro.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/tail43.pdf

Good News and bad News about Comet Atlas
January 20, 2025

First, the good news: Comet ATLAS (C/2024 G3) has just emerged into the evening sky of the southern hemisphere--and it is a beauty. "I do not think I have seen a comet as beautiful as this one since Hale-Bopp in 1997," says Daniel Mello, who sends this Jan. 19th selfie from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Astrophysicists reveal structure of 74 exocomet belts orbiting nearby stars in landmark survey
January 18, 2025

Astrophysicists led by a team from Trinity College Dublin have -- for the first time -- imaged a large number of exocomet belts around nearby stars, and the tiny pebbles within them. The crystal-clear images show light being emitted from these millimetre-sized pebbles within the belts that orbit 74 nearby stars of a wide variety of ages -- from those that are just emerging from birth to those in more mature systems like our own Solar System.

Sungrazing comet at dawn
January 12, 2025

Comet ATLAS (C/2024 G3) is brightening rapidly as it falls toward the sun for a close encounter on Jan. 13th.

Philae’s extraordinary comet landing relived
November 12, 2024

On 12 November 2014, after a ten year journey through the Solar System and over 500 million kilometres from home, Rosetta’s lander Philae made space exploration history by touching down on a comet for the first time. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of this extraordinary feat, we celebrate Philae’s impressive achievements at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

NASA's Webb Reveals Unusual Jets of Volatile Gas from Icy Centaur 29P
October 02, 2024

Scientists revealed unexpected outgassing from this object galloping across the outer solar system.

Similar to the Ancient Greek mythological creature of the same name, centaurs in astronomy are in an in-between dynamical phase: leaving their distant and stable orbits beyond Neptune and migrating to the inner solar system, while also entering an active cometary phase. Being stored for billions of years in the freezing confines of the outer solar system, they preserve key insights about the birth of our solar system, which are uniquely revealed as they slowly start to unfreeze in this transient stage.

Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a team of astronomers observed Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, one of the most active and intriguing objects in the outer solar system. The high degree of detail captured by the telescope led to the discovery of new, previously unknown jets of gas, which is helping inform theories about how centaurs and planets are formed.

A big new sungrazing comet
September 30, 2024

Astronomers are buzzing about a new comet discovered just a few days ago. It's so new, it doesn't have a name yet. Provisionally designated "A11bP7I," the comet appears to be a relatively large sungrazer on course to become a bright naked-eye object in late October.

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas is heading for Earth
September 28, 2024

Yesterday, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) made its closest approach to the sun. Now, its heading for Earth.

How to spot Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas
September 26, 2024

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas is a bright comet that’s about to fly around the Sun and pass near Earth. It’s possible to see the comet in the pre-dawn sky right now, and in a couple of weeks, when the comet makes its closest approach to Earth, it may offer an even more impressive sight. Only time will tell for sure.

The origins of dark comets
July 11, 2024

Up to 60% of near-Earth objects could be dark comets, mysterious asteroids that orbit the sun in our solar system that likely contain or previously contained ice and could have been one route for delivering water to Earth, according to a new study.

Is this comet doomed?
July 10, 2024

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) is about to fall apart. It's "inevitable," according to a new study by astronomer Zdenek Sekanina. "Evidence suggests that the comet has entered an advanced phase of fragmentation," he says.

SOHO reaches 5000 comets
March 28, 2024

On March 25, 2024, a citizen scientist in the Czech Republic spotted a comet in an image from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, which has now been confirmed to be the 5,000th comet discovered using SOHO data. SOHO has achieved this milestone over 28 years in space, even though it was never designed to be a comet hunter.

Records of cometary dust hitting the asteroid Ryugu
January 26, 2024

The Hayabusa2 mission that collected samples from the asteroid Ryugu has provided a treasure trove of insights into our solar system. After analyzing samples further, a team of researchers have unearthed evidence that cometary organic matter was transported from space to the near-Earth region.