SEWANEE, Tenn. — Something strange is sailing toward us. Something small and cold and extraordinarily fast. No one knows where it came from, or where it is going. But it's not from around here.
This is an interstellar comet — an ancient ball of ice and gas and dust, formed on the frozen outskirts of a distant star, which some lucky quirk of gravity has tossed into our path.
To astronomers, the comet is a care package from the cosmos — a piece of a place they will never be able to visit, a key to all the worlds they cannot directly observe.
Quite a lot has been going on:
Scientists say they’ve found leftovers from creation of solar system | WLS-AM 890 | WLS-AM
Scientists think they’ve found leftovers from the birth of our solar system, right here on Earth.
They say an asteroid discovered about 30 years ago contains ice fossils that date back 4.6-billion-years, or to the time when our solar system and planets were formed.
Scientists believe that what they’ve discovered are the remnants of “fluffy icy dust,” and other material that “resulted in the formation of large planets,” Fox News reports.
... --Solar System Dynamics Triggered Earth's Plate Tectonics | The
“We tend to think of the Earth as an isolated system, where only internal processes matter. Increasingly, though, we’re seeing the effect of solar system dynamics on how the Earth behaves,” says Craig O’Neil l, director of Macquarie University’s Planetary Research Center about a new study, published in Geology, suggesting that this earthly transition may in fact have been triggered by extra-terrestrial impacts.
Why solar homes also go dark during California’s blackout – Orange County Register
When wind-driven wildfires whip across California, some homeowners with solar systems might assume they’ll still have electricity if the utility company cuts power to prevent blazes sparked by damaged equipment.
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Homeowners with solar power need a backup system that can store electricity for use when the power goes out, Heavner said, and the most efficient, clean and cost-effective systems are tied to solar power.
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PSC says 'no' to higher electric rates for homeowners with solar panels ~ Missoula
NorthWestern Energy will not be allowed to charge homeowners with solar panels a higher rate for electrical service or to reduce the refund homeowners get for generating their own electricity.
Proponents of renewable energy celebrated Monday afternoon after the Montana Public Service Commission unanimously rejected NorthWestern Energy's request to give less of a benefit to customers who have rooftop solar systems.
Andrew Valainis, executive director of the Missoula-based Montana Renewable Energy Association, said he was thrilled with the ruling.
Was 'Oumuamua a cosmic dust bunny? | Space | EarthSky
‘Oumuamua – the weird object that entered our solar system in 2017 and quickly fled back toward interstellar space – might not be an asteroid or comet from a distant solar system, as many believed. It might instead be a “cosmic dust bunny.”
Artist’s concept of ‘Oumuamua, whose actual appearance is unknown. This illustration is based on the limited observations available. What was ‘Oumuamua? We know it entered our solar system – swept near our sun on September 9, 2017 – then headed back to interstellar space again. Astronomers are still trying to piece its story together. Image via ESO / M. Kornmesser.
Comet Borisov: Astronomers reveal new image of interstellar visitor to our solar system - CNN
(CNN) Astronomers have captured the best and closest image to date of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov, a visitor that originated from outside of our solar system and is currently passing through.
MT PSC rejects NW Energy's plan to raise electric rates for rooftop solar systems
HELENA — The Montana Public Service Commission Monday unanimously rejected NorthWestern Energy's proposed change in electric rates for rooftop solar customers – a change that the solar installers said would harm the industry.
NorthWestern, the state's largest electric utility with 370,000 customers, had proposed a new "demand charge" for future net-metered, rooftop solar-power systems. The charge is estimated to cost the average homeowner anywhere from $50 to $75 a month.
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