Writing in the journal Nature Communications, an international team describe how 2I/Borisov‘s coma — the nebulous envelope around the nucleus of a comet — polarised light at a higher rate than typical comets.
Archiv: comets (space objects)
Close Comet Flyby Threw Mars’ Magnetic Field Into Chaos
(09.03.2016)
And like a solar storm, the comet’s close passage likely fueled a temporary surge in the amount of gas escaping from Mars’ upper atmosphere. Over time, those storms took their toll on the atmosphere.
“With MAVEN, we’re trying to understand how the sun and solar wind interact with Mars,” said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN’s principal investigator from the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder. “By looking at how the magnetospheres of the comet and of Mars interact with each other, we’re getting a better understanding of the detailed processes that control each one.”
On the Origin of the Magnetic Field in Type-1 Comet Tails
(4. Juni 1976)
If the magnetic field in a type I comet tail were of internal origin, it would decrease with distance along the tail axis, and the comet tail would increase in cross section. The tail of Comet Arend-Roland (1957 III) was shown not to expand with distance from the nucleus, whence it is concluded that the magnetic field in the tail is of external origin. The magnetic field in type I comet tails, estimated from different considerations, turns out to be of the order of the interplanetary field, so that one may suppose that it results from the captured solar-wind magnetic field.
Recently, Mendis and Alfvén (1974) suggested that substantial magnetic fields, up to 100-1000y, could sometimes be generated within the coma. This means that the magnetic field in the comet tail may result from processes analogous to those producing the Earth‘s magnetotail.
Leonids Meteor Shower Peak
Watch the Leonid Meteor Shower peak live from Mathias West Virginia Saturday 11/16/2019 starting at 8PM Eastern time. We are expecting 10-15 meteors per hour. Thanks to Ed Abel for hosting the stream.
Leonids Meteor Shower 2019 – Leoniden Meteorstrom
Interstellar comet fits right in with our solar system
At the end of August, amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov spotted a new comet while at the MARGO observatory in Crimea. The amateur astronomer used a 0.65-meter telescope he built and saw something that resembled a comet with a short tail.
Observations by NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Dynamics Group have supported that …
Sternschnuppen aus dem Stier für Frühaufsteher
Immer am 9. oder 10. Oktober kreuzt die Erde den Sternschnuppen-Schwarm der Südlichen Tauriden. Ursprung dieses Meteor-Regens ist vermutlich ein zerborstener Komet. Und deswegen haben die Tauriden wunderschöne Leuchtkugeln im Gepäck.
The Small Comet 46P/Wirtanen Flies Close By Earth Next Month! Here‘s What to Expect.
As you read this, a small comet is on its way toward making a very close pass of Earth in mid-December — its best appearance over a period of four centuries.
Prepare for Meteors, Comets, Stellar Nights in December
Meteor showers, comets, and planets will dance across December skies and stargazers will want to be prepared, astronomists say.