Doorstep Astronomy: New Comet Looking Bright
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As 2004 draws to a close,    skywatchers have yet another opportunity to view a naked-eye comet. Comet Machholz    has been brightening steadily and conditions are now prime.
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A dying comet has prompted astronomers to take issue with a mainstream theory about the impact of &quot;space weather&quot; on these enigmatic wanderers of the Solar System.
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A bunch of rowdy comets are colliding and kicking up dust around a dead star, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The dead star lies at the center of the much-photographed Helix nebula, a shimmering cloud of gas with an eerie resemblance to a giant eye.
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A nearby star thought to harbor comets and asteroids now appears to be home to planets, too. The presumed worlds are smaller than Jupiter and could be as tiny as Pluto, new observations suggest.
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New observations of dust around young stars suggests collisions of large asteroid-like objects and fledgling planets are frequent.
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Mars will be unusually bright this Christmas Eve and the moon will be shining full  -  a development that might make Santa Claus rethink his need for Rudolph's red nose
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NASA's infrared eyes are probing the beginnings of both stars and planets.  In two separate observations, the Spitzer Space Telescope has uncovered the warm glow from a possible stellar infant and an icy disk where planets may one-day form.
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Many meteor showers tend to disappoint, but the annual Geminid shower is relatively reliable. And this year's version, which peaks tonight, is expected to be a great one.
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On a day of stunning news including moonbase plans and new orbital
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The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged two of the largest known asteroids, revealing craters and other features that will soon be the targets of close-up observations by NASA&#39;s Dawn spacecraft.
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NASA and university astronomers are eagerly awaiting  the launch of a&nbsp;space probe bound to collide with a comet and give  researchers a glimpse inside the solar system's&nbsp;icy  wanderers.&nbsp;
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Halley's comet won't return until 2061, but pieces of the celestial body are streaking across the sky. The heavenly show, known as the Orionids meteor shower, peaks Wednesday night.
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The &quot;northern lights&quot; will be visible this week in the Long Island area, with best chance of seeing them over the next few nights, astronomers said.
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A swarm of colliding comets is weaving  a dusty death shroud for a distant stellar corpse and providing astronomers  with rare proof that certain solar system objects can outlive their suns.
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NASA is on a collision course with a comet, and scientists say they can&#39;t wait to see what happens. The collision, which is to take place between a projectile fired from the space agency&#39;s Deep Impact spacecraft
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And snaps pics of Mars The comet-hunting spacecraft Rosetta has sent back its first sighting of the asteroid 21-Lutetia, one of two rocky bodies it will study en route to the comet 67p Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It will not get anywhere close to the rock for more than two years, but has already begun sending back preliminary data.â¦
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What might be the first directly visible planet orbiting a starlike body other than our sun was reported by scientists from Europe and Los Angeles on Friday.