Rotating comet slowed down when approaching the Ground

2017-10-19 10:07

Rotating comet slowed down when approaching the Ground
If the rotation of this comet will continue to slow, it can stop and start spinning in the other direction.

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Astronomers from Lowell Observatory, USA, observed the comet 41P/tuttle – Giacobini – Kresak last spring and noted that the speed of rotation of this comet is falling rapidly, reports Rus.Media. A team of researchers under the direction of David Schleicher (David Schleicher) studied the comet while the comet was at a relatively small distance from our planet. At this time, the period of own rotation of the comet 41P increased about twice, from 24 to 48 hours over six weeks – that was the fastest speed ever observed for a comet. If the rotation of this comet will continue to slow, it can stop and start spinning in the other direction.

Comet 41P/tuttle – Giacobini – Kresak is korotkoperiodnye comet, which currently makes one revolution around the Sun in 5.4 years. For eight weeks from March to may of this year the comet was at a distance of less than 30 million kilometers from Earth. These conditions have allowed astronomers to study in detail the comet 41P.

At the approach of the comet to the Sun with its surface gases are released, which form the characteristic “tail” that distinguishes a comet from an asteroid. One of the most common gases in the comet tails is the cyanide radical (-CN), and the observation of two jets of this gas is conducted by a team of Schleicher with a telescope the Discovery Channel Telescope Lowell Observatory and other ground-based tracking, has allowed to establish that the period of rotation of the comet increased from 24 hours in March up to 48 hours at the end of April.

These results indicate that the studied comet has an elongated shape, low density substances, and that the observed gas jets emerge from parts of the surface of the comet located at its edges, since only in this case, provided the relevant observations of the braking torque, the authors.