solar system

The measurements from the spacecraft’s instruments indicated that the planets and moons were inactive, unlike the other moons in the outer solar system.

It has the shortest orbital period of any known comet within our solar system, taking just 3.3 years to orbit the Sun.

It was discovered last year by astronomers in China and South Africa as it approached the inner solar system, and after this visit, it won’t be seen again for 80,000 years, according to NASA.

“That is hugely significant, because if that happens twice in our solar system, it could mean life is really common,” he says.

The comet likely travelled from the outer reaches of our solar system and made its closest transit past the sun on 27 September, the Nasa Earth Observatory said.