A NASA satellite launched in Dec. to scan the universe for objects near and far is proving its worth, turning up objects in the inner solar system. Over the period of its 10-month mission, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft will survey the sky in the infrared, a wavelength band optimal for spying on distant, dust-shrouded galaxies also for spotting nearby objects that are cool as well as dim, like comets and failed stars known as brown dwarfs. (Even cool objects give off heat, which is visible in the infrared.)
On Jan. 22, only 10 days after discovering its first near-Earth asteroid, WISE picked out a formerly unknown comet streaking through the solar system. The thermal emission from the comet is able to be seen above as a red blob in the center of the image.
The icy 2-kilometer-wide comet, officially designated P/2010 B2 (WISE), orbits the sun in an elongated ellipse that takes 4.69 years to complete and the comet doesn’t come especially close to Earth—it is at present passing through Mars's orbit and in no way comes within about 90 million kilometers of us—but WISE is likely to find near-Earth objects whose orbits are more worrisome. Its survey will help characterize the threat posed by near-Earth asteroids and comets. More dedicated instruments will be required to fully catalog the wayward objects in Earth's vicinity.
On Jan. 22, only 10 days after discovering its first near-Earth asteroid, WISE picked out a formerly unknown comet streaking through the solar system. The thermal emission from the comet is able to be seen above as a red blob in the center of the image.
The icy 2-kilometer-wide comet, officially designated P/2010 B2 (WISE), orbits the sun in an elongated ellipse that takes 4.69 years to complete and the comet doesn’t come especially close to Earth—it is at present passing through Mars's orbit and in no way comes within about 90 million kilometers of us—but WISE is likely to find near-Earth objects whose orbits are more worrisome. Its survey will help characterize the threat posed by near-Earth asteroids and comets. More dedicated instruments will be required to fully catalog the wayward objects in Earth's vicinity.
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