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Articles on Comets

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The Herschel Museum in Bath, England, has a new display of a handwritten draft of Caroline Herschel’s memoirs. Internet Archive Book Images via Wikimedia Commons

Caroline Herschel was England’s first female professional astronomer, but still lacks name recognition two centuries later

Astronomer Caroline Herschel’s work discovering and cataloging astronomical objects in the 18th century is still used in the field today, but she didn’t always get her due credit.
Didymos (bottom right) and its smaller moonlet Dimorphos (center) were the targets of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

NASA crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid – photos show the last moments of the successful DART mission

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test successfully showed that it is possible to crash a spacecraft into a small asteroid. Whether the approach could save Earth from a future threat remains to be seen.
An Eta Aquariid meteor (centre) along with comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in the background, photographed during the 2020 Eta Aquariid shower. Photo by Jonti Horner

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is set to light up the skies. Here’s how to get the best seat in the house

Each year, the Earth runs through a broad river of dust surrounding Comet Halley – giving birth to the spectacular Eta Aquariid meteor shower.

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