Photo: Peering Into Comets, Finding More of the Same

Email to a Friend << Back to Full Story


Observations of the SW 3 comet, above, suggest that comets may have less diverse chemical compositions than thought.

Comets are dirty snowballs of ice, gas, and dust that may hold the keys to answering how our solar system formed from a giant cloud of gas and dust some 4.5 billion years ago.

Photograph courtesy NASA, ESA, H. H. Weaver (JHU/APL)

MOST VIEWED NEWS

PICTURES: 2012 Doomsday Myths Debunked

2012: Six End-of-the-World Myths Debunked

APOCALYPSE PICTURES: 10 Failed Doomsday Prophecies
NEWS FEEDS    After installing a news reader, click on this icon to download National Geographic News's XML/RSS feed. After installing a news reader, click on this icon to download National Geographic News's XML/RSS feed.

Get our news delivered directly to your desktop—free.
How to Use XML or RSS

ADVERTISEMENT

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S PHOTO OF THE DAY

Today's National Geographic Photo of the Day

• Today's Photo

• Download as Wallpaper

50 Drives of a Lifetime

National Geographic Traveler has scoured the globe for the world's most beautiful, interesting, and off-beat road trips. Dive in to get drive directions, quizzes, photos, and more.