Lander manager provides update on Philae status

Comet impacts on Earth are synonymous with great extinctions, but now research presented at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Prague shows that early comet collisions would have become a driving force to cause substantial synthesis of peptides — the first building blocks of life. This may have implications for the genesis of life on other worlds.

C/2014 Q2, better known as Comet Lovejoy, is brightening fast and rapidly heading into the Northern Hemisphere sky. Here’s our quick guide to viewing what will hopefully be the first naked-eye comet of 2015.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) was discovered by on August 11 by Hideo Nishimura of Japan. It’s currently in the pre-dawn sky and visible through large binoculars, but you’ll need to observe as soon as possible this week.