Halloween object suddenly loses its "heart" before the eyes of Earthlings

(NLDO) - An ancient object expected to be bright enough to be easily seen with the naked eye on Halloween may be meeting a brutal death.

According to Science Alert , a newly discovered object called C/2024 S1 was predicted to put on a spectacular light show this Halloween.

However, the latest data shows that its "heart" appears to have disappeared.

Vật thể Halloween bất ngờ mất — The ancient object C/2024 S1 may have suffered nuclear disintegration before it could give Earthlings their best Halloween moment - AI illustration: Anh Thu

C/2024 S1 is a rare Kreutz sungrazer comet, expected to reach perihelion (closest point to the Sun) on October 28.

The Kreutz sungrazer comet is a group of objects believed to be the remnants of a larger comet, billions of years old, that appeared in 1106.

This family of comets includes 1965's Ikeya-Seki, which was nearly as bright as the full moon in the sky.

As for C/2024 S1, it was once predicted to become a brilliant ball of light in the Earth's sky due to its sublimation during the perihelion phase.

But then something unexpected happened: Images of the object taken in October showed it brightening with explosive activity before fading, with the nucleus seemingly disappearing.

The event also left behind a trail of dust and gas, which astronomers speculate was a cloud of cometary debris.

This is somewhat disappointing, but not entirely unexpected, as this isn't the first time Earthlings have witnessed a comet breaking apart right before their eyes.

In 2020, comet C/2019 Y4 broke into pieces when approaching the Sun under the monitoring of the Hubble Space Telescope.

With C/2024 S1, there were prior signs of instability, including an outburst with a sudden release of dust and gas, causing it to glow significantly for several days.

Images taken on October 20 and 22 by Czech amateur astronomer Martin Mašek also show that at certain times, the comet's nucleus appeared to have disappeared from view.

A large fragment of the nucleus may survive the decay process and continue its journey, while the tail may still be visible even after the comet's nucleus decays, so it's not surprising if you still see it—just fainter.

Currently, C/2024 S1 can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope in the Southern Hemisphere.

After perihelion, if any part of its "heart" survives, it will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

Conversely, if this nucleus completely disintegrates as it approaches the Sun, we might still see its long, curved tail faintly, but without the bright comet head we might expect.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/vat-the-halloween-bat-ngo-mat-trai-tim-truoc-mat-nguoi-trai-dat-19624102607293791.htm