International researchers have discovered the 400,000 km long comet head of a particularly rare celestial object.
Centaurs are rare items that have both asteroid and comet characteristics. Basically they are rocky objects like asteroids, but they also produce clouds of dust and gas when the outer shell evaporates, like comets. When centaurs release gases, they are considered active.
Researchers have found that only 18 centaurs were active in the past century. In new research published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, scientists have discovered a new centaur using data collected from the Dark Energy Camera at the Inter-American Observatory and the Walter Baade Telescope at the Observatory. Las Campanas of Chile, with the Discovery Telescope Massive Mass Camera at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, USA.
“We have developed a new technique that combines observational measurements, such as color and dust mass, with a model to estimate features such as the orbital dynamics of an object,” said astronomer Colin Chandler. . said from the University of Northern Arizona.
The above technique includes the development of a dedicated algorithm to examine traces of activity in space photographs, providing evidence of Centaur 2014 OG392 converting solids to gas and leaving a long tail trail like comets. New sightings over the past two years show the centaur to be very special. Computer modeling also helped the astronomy team determine the type of ice that could be burned off the rock’s surface.
This is a difficult calculation because this object may not be made of just one type of ice but of a mixture of materials that can burn differently. “We found a 400,000 km long comet head from 2014 OG392,” Chandler said. “Our analysis shows that carbon dioxide and ammonia are more likely to be the compounds that stimulate the activity of these centaurs.”
The head of a comet is a bundle of ice and dust that forms around the nucleus of the comet as it flies near the Sun. Due to the new discovery, 2014 OG392 no longer belongs to the centaur group but is considered a complete comet with the symbol C / 2014 OG392 (PANSTARRS).
