The dust tail of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. Top panel: Cropped version of the computer-processed image of the comet taken by R. Naves with a 30 cm f/9 reflector of the Montcabre Observatory, Spain, in June 2024. Bottom panel: Four synchrotrons mimicking the axial directions of of dust grains ejected from the core (large open circle) at different times. Credit: arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2407.06166
Zdenek Sekanina, an astronomer with La Canada Flintridge in the US, reports what he describes as evidence of a possible breakup of Comet Tsuchinshan before it swings around the sun. Sekanina specializes in the behavior of comets, analyzing them specifically to make predictions about whether they will break up or break up while they are near the sun.
He believes the comet is likely to break up before it can be seen from Earth and has posted his research on arXiv preprint server.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, more formally known as C/2023 A3, was first observed by astronomers at the XuYi station of China’s Purple Mountain Observatory just last year. It was then lost but later found again by a team in South Africa. Since that rediscovery, anticipation has built because its size and trajectory suggested it would be easily seen during its close pass by Earth this October, perhaps appearing as bright as Jupiter in the night sky.
But the expected display will not materialize, Sekanina suggests in his paper, because the comet shows signs of fragmentation before its arrival.
As comets travel closer to the sun, they begin to lose gas. In close proximity, they begin to lose dust, which creates visible tails. Previous research has shown that the gas discharge tends to push the comet forward, like a thruster, and can also slightly change its path and spin rate.
Measurements of this non-gravitational acceleration allow astronomers to predict the path the comet will take as it swings around the sun. It is also used to make estimates about the brightness if it passes close enough to be seen from Earth.
In his observations, Sekanina found that the comet is not as bright as expected given its size, speed and rotation. And perhaps worse, it hasn’t gotten any brighter as it approaches the sun. He suggests that the only plausible reason is that it is now in the advanced stages of fragmentation. He suggests that the comet is likely to break up into pieces too small to be seen from Earth.
More information:
Zdenek Sekanina, The Inevitable End of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3), arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2407.06166
Magazine Information:
arXiv
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citation: Comet Tsuchinshan shows signs of breakup before orbiting the sun (2024, July 16) retrieved July 16, 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-07-comet-tsuchinshan-prior-sun.html
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