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For the first time since 2007, astronomers have spotted a new meteor shower over Earth. And while this sky show may not be as dazzling as the upcoming Perseids, it could provide the seeds for locating a mysterious and potentially hazardous comet.

Read the full story here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110810-new-meteor-shower...

Chemicals that existed in the early Solar System, which could have been an important source of the organic compounds that gave rise to life on Earth, have been found locked up within meteorites.

Like forensic scientists examining fingerprints at a cosmic crime scene, scientists working with data from NASA's Cassini, Galileo and New Horizons missions have traced telltale ripples in the rings of Saturn and Jupiter back to collisions with cometary fragments dating back more than 10 years ago.

Read more at: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Forensic_Sleuthing_Ties_Ring_Ripples_T...

LITTLETON, Colo. – You could call it assisted suicide in space. NASA’s comet-visiting Stardust spacecraft was purposely put to death today by those that had provided tender loving care to the probe for more than 12 years.

After visiting two comets (and returning pieces of one to Earth) and traveling nearly 5.7 billion miles (9.1 billion kilometers), the Stardust spacecraft is at journey's end.

Follow Astronomy magazine's search for ancient meteorites in Tunisia!

http://cs.astronomy.com/asycs/blogs/astronomy/archive/2011/03/22/on-the-...

Brookhaven College students in the astronomy division officially recorded evidence of at least one unidentified object during their fall asteroid search initiative.

The asteroid search was part of the International Astronomical Search Collaboration, also known as the IASC campaign, an endeavor in which schools worldwide participate.

A preliminary analysis of asteroid samples returned last year by Japan's Hayabusa probe show evidence the dust grains have a similar composition to stony meteorites that commonly fall to Earth.

http://www.astronomynow.com/news/n1103/15itokawa/

What should be the best meteor shower of 2010 will occur beginning on the evening of Monday, Dec. 13.

Like most meteor showers, the Geminids will be at their best after midnight (early on the morning of Dec. 14), when the Earth is heading directly into the meteoroid stream. But some will be visible earlier in the night, on the evening of Dec. 13, because the meteors radiant —where they appear to originate — is nearly circumpolar, so they will stay in view above the horizon all night.

This sky map shows where to look to see the Geminid meteor shower.

What causes a meteor shower?

Brian G. Marsden, who for decades was the go-to guy for thousands of stargazers when a comet or an asteroid would streak through the heavens — or, by his calculations, was supposed to — died Thursday in Burlington, Mass. He was 73 and lived in Lexington, Mass.

The cause was bone marrow disease, said his wife, Nancy.

The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks this year on Dec. 13th and 14th, is the most intense meteor shower of the year. It lasts for days, is rich in fireballs, and can be seen from almost any point on Earth.

It’s also NASA astronomer Bill Cooke’s favorite meteor shower—but not for any of the reasons listed above.

“The Geminids are my favorite,” he explains, “because they defy explanation.”