Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

    x

    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

    x

    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

    x

    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

Comets

year
found		 closest distance
from Sun (AU)		 time to orbit
Sun (years)		 next or most recent
pass by Sun		 inclination
(degrees)		 orbital
eccentricity
Arend-Roland 1956 0.316 ? ? 119.95 1.000
Bennett 1970 0.538 ? ? 90.04 0.996
Biela 1772 0.861 6.62 ? 12.55 0.756
Borrelly 1904 1.358 6.68 2001 30.3 .624
Brorsen-Metcalf 1847 0.479 70.6 2060 19.33 0.972
Chiron 1977 ? 51 2047 ? ?
Churyumov-Gerasimenko 1969 1.29 6.57 2009 7.12 0.632
d'Arrest 1851 1.291 6.38 2001 19.43 0.625
Donati 1858 0.578 ? ? 116.96 0.996
Encke 1786 0.341 3.31 2003 11.93 0.846
Giacobini-Zinner 1900 1.028 6.59 1999 31.88 0.708
Grigg-Skjellerup 1808
1902 (rediscovered)		 .989 5.09 ? 21.1 0.644
Hale-Bopp 1995 0.9143 4000 1997 ? ?
Halley ? 0.587 76.09 2062 162.24 0.967
Hyakutake 1996 0.23 ~30,000 ~31,500 ? ?
Ikeya-Seki 1965 0.008 880 2845 141.86 1.000
IRAS-Araki-
Alcock		 1983 0.991 ? ? 73.25 0.990
Kohoutek 1973 0.142 ? ? 14.31 1.000
Lexell 1770 0.674 5.60 ? 1.56 0.786
Linear 1999 0.762 ? ? 149 .999
Morehouse 1908 0.945 ? ? 140.18 1.001
Mrkos 1957 0.355 ? ? 93.94 0.999
Schwassmann-
Wachmann 1		 1908 5.448 15 2004 9.75 0.105
Schwassmann-
Wachmann 3		 1930 .937 5.36 2006 11.4 .694
Shoemaker-Levy 9 1993 collided with Jupiter in 1994
Swift-Tuttle 1862 0.963 120 ? 113.56 0.960
Tempel 1 1867 1.5 5.51 2005 10.5 0.519
Tempel 2 1873 1.381 5.29 ? 12.44 0.545
West 1976 0.197 ? ? 43.07 1.000
Wild 2 1978 1.583 6.39 2003 3.2 0.540
Wirtanen 1948 1.063 5.46 2013 11.7 0.652

Last modified January 9, 2004 by Randy Russell.

Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!

Our online store includes books on science education, ranging from evolution, classroom research, and the need for science and math literacy!

Windows to the Universe Community

News

Opportunities

Upcoming W2U Events
Join Today - Benefits,
No Ads!
Special Offers for Teachers
Member Benefits
Teacher Newsletter
Partnership Opportunities

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was discovered in 1969 by Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko. The comet orbits the Sun once every 6.57 years. Its orbit brings it closer to the Sun than Mars at the...more

Comet Wild 2

Comet Wild 2 is a short-period comet that orbits the Sun once every 6.39 years. A Swiss astronomer named Paul Wild discovered it on January 6, 1978. Wild 2 is pronounced "Vilt 2". The comet comes about...more

Rosetta Mission Update

The Rosetta Mission, the first mission to have a lander which will touch down on a comet, was suppose to launch in January 2003. Unfortunately, launch has been delayed and no new launch date has been set....more

Comet Hale-Bopp

Hale-Bopp continues to offer surprises as astronomers study the comet. Using the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Ultraviolet Explorer, astronomers have found that their are distinctly different...more

Missions to Halley's comet in 1986

Six spacecraft flew by Halley's comet in 1986. There were two spacecraft launched from Japan, Suisei and Sakigake, and two from the Soviet Union, Vega 1 & 2. One spacecraft, ICE, from the United States...more

The Jupiter family of comets

Comets are observed to go around the sun in a long period of time or a short period of time. Thus they are named "long-period" or "short-period" comets. One group of short-period comets, called the Jupiter...more

What we learned from Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

Scientists have learned a great deal from the crash of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Scientists traced the orbit of the comet backwards in time to guess its origin. This calculation, along with the discovery...more

Shop Windows to the Universe

Learn about planets outside our solar system through Exoplanets and Alien Solar Systems by Tahir Yaqoob, Ph.D., a book in our online store book collection.

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation and NASA, our Founding Partners (the American Geophysical Union and American Geosciences Institute) as well as through Institutional, Contributing, and Affiliate Partners, individual memberships and generous donors. Thank you for your support! NASA AGU AGI NSF