COBS News archive

Comet Hartley 2 Leaves a Bumpy Trail
July 16, 2011
New findings from NEOWISE, the asteroid- and comet-hunting portion of NASAs Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission, show that comet Hartley 2 leaves a pebbly trail as it laps the sun, dotted with grains as big as golf balls.

New Comet: C/2011 N2 (McNAUGHT)
July 11, 2011
IAUC nr.9220, issued on 2011, July 07, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude 17.9) by R. H. McNaught with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt telescope at Siding Spring, on images obtained on 2011, July 04.46. The new comet has been designated C/2011 N2 (McNAUGHT).

New Comet: P/2011 N1
July 11, 2011
IAUC nr.9219, issued on 2011, July 07, announces that an apparently asteroidal object (discovery magnitude 19.9) reported by Ignacio de la Cueva, Ibiza, Spain (from exposures taken by J. L. Ortiz, P. Santos-Sanz, N. Morales, and himself with a 0.40-m f/3.7 reflector at San Pedro de Atacama, Chile) was found to show cometary appearance after initial posting on the Minor Planet Center NEOCP webpage. The new comet has been designated P/2011 N1

Bright Sungrazing Comet on July 05, 2011
July 06, 2011
A new bright comet diving into the Sun is visible right now in C3 and C2 images taken by SOHO spacecraft.

New Comet: C/2011 M1 (LINEAR)
June 27, 2011
IAUC nr.9218, issued on 2011, June 25, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude 18.6) by the LINEAR survey with a 1.0-m f/2.15 reflector + CCD, on images obtained on 2011, June 22.4. The new comet has been designated C/2011 M1 (LINEAR)

Scientists Analyzs Nucleus of Comet Hartley 2
June 21, 2011
Nearly one year ago, a repurposed NASA spacecraft flew by the comet Hartley 2. As a result, a multitude of high-resolution images were gathered over 50 days that allow scientists to understand the nature of the comets surface and its hidden interior.

Science Paper Details NASA Epoxi Flyby of Hyper Comet
June 17, 2011
Comet Hartley 2 hyperactive state, as studied by NASAs EPOXI mission, is detailed in a new paper published in this weeks issue of the journal Science.

New Comet: C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS)
June 10, 2011
IAUC nr.9215, issued on 2011, June 08, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude 19.4) on four CCD images taken with the 1.8-m Pan-STARRS 1 telescope at Haleakala, on images obtained on 2011, June 6.4. The new comet has been designated C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS).

Rosetta Comet Probe Starts Years-Long Space Hibernation
June 09, 2011
The final command placing ESAs Rosetta comet-chaser into deep-space hibernation was sent June 8, 2011. With virtually all systems shut down, the probe will now coast for 31 months until waking up in 2014 for arrival at its comet destination.

Great Comet of 1680
June 08, 2011
C/1680 V1, also called the Great Comet of 1680, Kirchs Comet, and Newtons Comet, has the distinction of being the first comet discovered by telescope. Discovered by Gottfried Kirch on 14 November 1680, New Style, it became one of the brightest comets of the 17th century (reputedly visible even in daytime) and was noted for its spectacularly long tail.

New Comet: C/2011 L3 (McNAUGHT)
June 08, 2011
IAUC nr.9214, issued on 2011, June 06, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude 16.3) by Robert H. McNaught through the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt + CCD at Siding Spring, on images obtained on 2011, June 3.7. The new comet has been designated C/2011 L3 (McNAUGHT).

Outburst of 174P/Echeclus
June 03, 2011
After reading on the [Comets-ml] forum about a possible outburst of centaur 174P/Echeclus, we performed some follow-up remotely, from the Tzec Maun Observatory (near Moorook, Australia).

New comet C/2011 K1 (Schwartz-Holvorcem)
June 01, 2011
C/2011 K1 (Schwartz-Holvorcem) was discovered on 2011, May 26.25 by M. Schwartz and P. Holvorcem with the 0.41-m f/3.75 astrograph + CCD from Tenagra Observatory, Arizona, USA.

New comet P/2011 JB15 (Spacewatch-Boattini)
June 01, 2011
P/2011 JB15 (Spacewatch-Boattini) was originally discovered as an asteroid by Spacewatch team using the 0.90-m f/3 reflector + CCD from Kitt Peak, Arizona – USA, on 2011, May 8 and 12, and designated by the Minor Planet Center 2011 JB15.

New Comet: C/2011 J3 (LINEAR)
May 25, 2011
IAUC nr.9209, issued on 2011, May 20, announced the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude 19.7) by the LINEAR survey through their 1.0-m f/2.15 reflector + CCD, on images obtained on 2011, May 14.3 The new comet has been designated C/2011 J3 (LINEAR).

Researchers gain new insights into Comet Hartley 2
May 18, 2011
A tumbling comet nucleus with a changing rotational rate has been observed for the first time, according to a new paper by a Planetary Science Institute researcher.

Bright Sungrazing Comet on May 10-11, 2011
May 17, 2011
A new bright comet diving into the Sun has been discovered on May. 09 by amateur astronomer Sergey Shurpakov using the images taken by SOHO spacecraft.

New Comet: C/2011 J2 (LINEAR)
May 12, 2011
CBET nr.2714, issued on 2011, May 07, announced the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude 19.7) by the LINEAR survey through their 1.0-m f/2.15 reflector + CCD, on images obtained on 2011, May 04.2 The new comet has been designated C/2011 J2 (LINEAR).

New Comet: C/2011 H1 (Lemmon)
May 11, 2011
IAUC nr.9206, issued on 2011, May 05, announced the discovery of an apparently asteroidal object (discovery magnitude 19.7) by Alex R. Gibbs on CCD images taken on April 26.3 with the Mt. Lemmon 1.5-m reflector. Gibbs suspected that this object might show slight cometary appearance.

Comet Elenin: Preview of a Coming Attraction
May 05, 2011
You may have heard the news: Comet Elenin is coming to the inner-solar system this fall. Comet Elenin (also known by its astronomical name C/2010 X1), was first detected on Dec. 10, 2010 by Leonid Elenin, an observer in Lyubertsy, Russia, who made the discovery remotely using the ISON-NM observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico.