Comets

Further Information

Physical Environment > Comets

Earlier Later

Catching a comet

June 30, 1999
Scheduled for launch in January, 2003, Rosetta will be the first space probe to land on a comet. Its quarry is Comet Wirtanen, a ball of rock and ice just 600 metres across.

Using the gravitation of Earth and Mars, Rosetta will speed up until it is travelling at the same velocity as the comet, around 130,000 kilometres per hour. The chase is expected to take eight years.

Stardust is the first space mission that will fly close to a comet and, for the first time ever, bring cometary material back to Earth for analysis. Follow the progress of stardust on this site as it heads for its historic encounter with the comet Wild 2 in 2004.

Redshift 3

Click for details
What star is that? Is that a star or a planet? When will the moon be exactly full?

Redshift will tell you this and much much more. This amazing program puts the solar system on your PC. Fly around, watch the skies, see a eclipse any time you want, identify stars and planets at any place on Earth. Wonderful.

Features: --
Predict and simulate events like eclipses and conjunctions from past celestial events from any viewpoint in the solar system from 5000 BC to 10,000 AD
Dynamic new interface with accessible and versatile control panels
More than 50 Astronomy Tours introduce key concepts
Integrated Internet links, including a facility to download new items direct from the special Red Shift site
Contains new edition of The Penguin Dictionary of Astronomy
Sky diary for any month the user chooses, presenting features such as meteor showers and eclipses to observe in the night sky
Record Breakers section which leads the younger user into exploration of other resources
Stunning images including planet images, photo-realistic sky images showing galaxies, nebulae and the Milky Way and detailed surface maps of the Moon, Mars, Venus and Earth

Buy this whole site for only $9.95!!!!

Global Vision weaves together the biggest and smallest things in the universe into a complete and enthralling story, a concise reference book, a pocket encyclopedia and an introduction to basic science. It is simpler than this web site but written by the same author in the same easily understood style, making it essential reading for all children of the 21st century world (and their parents and grandparents).

It has 128 pages and many black and white illustrations. It also includes a full index, a series of time lines and the complete text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Get your copy for US$9.95 (plus shipping).

Catching a comet

Comet Sampling

Redshift 3

Buy this whole site for only $9.95!!!!