The Edge of Space

The Edge of Space

On 11 July, 2021, Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, took a suborbital flight to the inner edge of outer space, reaching an altitude of 86 km (54 miles) above the surface of the Earth. Although it marked a milestone for space tourism, where that milestone marker should be placed is an ongoing matter …

Scent from Heaven

Scent from Heaven - an essay on the smell of meteors and meteorites and aroma of comets. Meteorite smell. Scent of a meteorite.

Apparently, if you smell a fresh meteorite it smells like sulphur, according to reports about the Tagish Lake meteorite and the aroma that filled the air during its fall in 2000. And the Aguas Zarcas meteorite that fell in Costa Rica in 2019 has been said to smell of compost, vanilla and Brussels sprouts, depending …

Asteroid vs Comet

Asteroid 6478 Gault with tail

From active asteroids to dormant comets, rubble piles to remnant cores, main belt comets and manx comets to ambiguous interstellar objects, this article provides a brief overview of the smaller objects in our planetary zoo—the main differences and similarities between asteroids and comets. But if it's meteors you're looking for, read Meteoroids, Meteors and Meteorites. …