{"id":138569,"date":"2024-12-18T23:24:52","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T16:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138569"},"modified":"2024-12-18T23:24:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T16:24:52","slug":"dark-comets-a-cross-between-asteroids-and-comets-may-be-common-in-our-solar-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138569","title":{"rendered":"Dark comets, a cross between asteroids and comets, may be common in our solar system"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-editable=\"content\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-reorderable=\"content\">\n<p data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/editor-note\/instances\/cm4st2zvo0003356mr2y0dpy2@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"editor-note\" class=\"editor-note vossi-editor-note inline-placeholder \" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n    <em>Sign up for CNN\u2019s Wonder Theory science newsletter.\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters\/wonder-theory?source=nl-acq_article\"><em>Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more<\/em><\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n    <cite class=\"source__cite\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"source__location\" data-editable=\"location\"\/><br \/>\n      <span class=\"source__text\" data-editable=\"source\">CNN<\/span><br \/>\n        \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<br \/>\n    <\/cite>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st2mb7008f2dph0i66bpn2@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Astronomers have spotted seven new examples of a cosmic phenomenon known as dark comets that could help scientists determine whether the celestial bodies helped deliver vital elements like water to Earth early in the planet\u2019s history.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000h356m83kdf4fb@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The discovery doubles the known number of these mysterious celestial objects across our solar system that resemble asteroids but zip through space like comets, albeit without the \u201ctail\u201d comets are known for.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000i356m6k3eoluy@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The new research, published December 9 in the journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2406424121\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/a>, also shows that there are two distinct populations of these objects.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000j356mzqfs1ep1@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Uncovering more of the dark comets has helped astronomers realize that these objects aren\u2019t as rare as previously believed.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000k356m8u4lz0dm@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cOne of the most important reasons why we study small bodies, like asteroids and comets, is because they tell us about how material is transported around the solar system,\u201d said lead study author Darryl Seligman, a postdoctoral fellow of physics and astronomy at Michigan State University, East Lansing, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/natsci.msu.edu\/news\/2024-12-bringing-dark-comets-to-light.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a>.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000l356mkzgssn0r@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cDark comets are a new class of near-Earth objects that may contain water, so they\u2019re a new potential source for delivering materials to Earth which were necessary for the development of life. The more we can learn about them, the better we can understand their role in our planet\u2019s origin.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000m356m3w0cb9ip@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Astronomers studying what they believed to be an asteroid called 2003 RM two decades ago noticed the object had shifted slightly from its predicted orbit.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000n356mwf7rhkd2@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The movement couldn\u2019t be explained by accelerations that are typical for asteroids, such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/public.nrao.edu\/gallery\/yarkovsky-effect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yarkovsky effect<\/a>, in which space rocks absorb heat from the sun and then emit it as infrared radiation, which can cause a tiny amount of thrust for the asteroid.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000o356mcuebdvyu@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Instead, 2003 RM was moving more like a comet. The sun causes material such as the ice inside comets to turn directly to a gas through a process called sublimation. That evaporation provides the comets with thrust. The thrust is evident by the tail seen streaming behind comets, which is made of the evaporating material.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000p356mzgrq3wjm@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cBut try as we might, we couldn\u2019t find any signs of a comet\u2019s tail. It looked like any other asteroid \u2014 just a pinpoint of light. So, for a short while, we had this one weird celestial object that we couldn\u2019t fully figure out,\u201d said study coauthor Davide Farnocchia, a navigation engineer at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/news\/nasa-researchers-discover-more-dark-comets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a>. \u201cThis is a puzzle that challenges the way we have always classified objects either as asteroids or comets.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000q356mjrtuel5z@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Then, astronomers spotted \u2018Oumuamua in 2017. It was the first observed object in our solar system that originated outside of it.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4svf6u9001e356m8q3gtbgy@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Scientists briefly observed \u2018Oumuamua with telescopes before the interstellar visitor completed its quick pass through our solar system, igniting a multitude of hypotheses about its true nature along the way, including the possibility that it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/11\/06\/health\/oumuamua-alien-probe-harvard-intl\/index.html\">might have been an alien probe<\/a>.\n    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cm4svfa3s001g356ml7eyphcx@published\" class=\"image image__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-name=\"interstellar asteroid PHOTO ILLUSTRATION\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image--eq-extra-small=\"\" data-original-ratio=\"0.5626666666666666\" data-original-height=\"1688\" data-original-width=\"3000\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/171120150930-interstellar-asteroid-photo-illustration.jpg?q=w_3000,h_1688,x_0,y_0,c_fill\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image__container \" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image--eq-extra-small=\"\">\n       <picture class=\"image__picture\"><source height=\"1688\" width=\"3000\" media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/171120150930-interstellar-asteroid-photo-illustration.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"1688\" width=\"3000\" media=\"(min-width: 960px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/171120150930-interstellar-asteroid-photo-illustration.jpg?q=w_1015,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"1688\" width=\"3000\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/171120150930-interstellar-asteroid-photo-illustration.jpg?q=w_1160,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"1688\" width=\"3000\" media=\"(max-width: 479px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/171120150930-interstellar-asteroid-photo-illustration.jpg?q=w_680,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/171120150930-interstellar-asteroid-photo-illustration.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\" alt=\"A photo illustration shows the first interstellar asteroid: `Oumuamua. This unique object was discovered on 19 October 2017 by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawai`i. Subsequent observations from ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile and other observatories around the world show that it was travelling through space for millions of years before its chance encounter with our star system. `Oumuamua\u00a0seems to be a dark red highly-elongated metallic or rocky object, about 400 metres long, and is unlike anything normally found in the Solar System.\" class=\"image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"1688\" width=\"3000\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000r356mlp62kqwu@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Telescope observations showed that \u2018Oumuamua appeared like a single point of light, similar to an asteroid, but its trajectory shifted as though it were shedding material, much like a comet, making it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/03\/23\/world\/oumuamua-interstellar-comet-scn\/index.html\">difficult to determine whether it was either object<\/a>.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000s356mk9g2cvks@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201c\u2018Oumuamua was surprising in several ways,\u201d Farnocchia said. \u201cThe fact that the first object we discovered from interstellar space exhibited similar behaviors to 2003 RM made 2003 RM even more intriguing.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000t356mcj06soua@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Farnocchia and Seligman each published research in 2023 that described a total of seven objects spotted in our solar system with unusual aspects similar to \u2018Oumuamua that blurred the line between asteroids and comets. The scientists dubbed this new class of objects dark comets.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000u356mna7k71t6@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Now, with the discovery of seven more dark comets, the researchers have been able to discern differences between their populations.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000v356m4f58innc@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cWe had a big enough number of dark comets that we could begin asking if there was anything that would differentiate them,\u201d Seligman said. \u201cBy analyzing the reflectivity, and the orbits, we found that our solar system contains two different types of dark comets.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000w356myvw9c1iy@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Inner dark comets can be found within the inner solar system, which includes the planets Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury, and move in nearly circular orbits around the sun. The celestial objects are diminutive, only reaching up to tens of meters across, and may have originated from the main asteroid belt, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000x356ms070am7o@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Meanwhile, outer dark comets, which may have come from the outer regions of our solar system near Jupiter and beyond, have distinctly oval-shaped orbits and can span hundreds of meters or more.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000y356msqljeukn@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Now that astronomers have found populations of dark comets, they want to determine whether the objects contain ice, what\u2019s behind their acceleration and where they came from.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x000z356mx5u6pczq@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Gaining a better understanding of dark comets could shed light on whether these objects contributed to the early evolution of Earth by crashing into it while the planet was forming.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x0010356m9c7ble0m@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cWhat many people may not think about on a regular basis is that the solar system is a chaotic place,\u201d Seligman said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know where things come from, but with the 14 dark comets we now know about that are orbiting within our solar system, there are windows of opportunity in the next few years for us to gather more data and hopefully uncover answers about the formation of our own planet.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x0011356mfwxmnxcb@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Previous research has suggested that up to 60% of near-Earth objects could be dark comets.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x0012356mw63wes1n@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            While asteroids are devoid of ice because they orbit closer to the sun, comets are icy bodies that resemble dirty ice cubes with more distant orbits, said Aster Taylor, coauthor of the new study and lead author of a study published online in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0019103524002677\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">journal Icarus in July about dark comets<\/a>. Taylor is a doctoral student in astronomy at the University of Michigan.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x0013356meb0e8gkd@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            But dark comets that are near-Earth objects could be found in the main asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and they may contain ice. And if ice is common on small bodies like dark comets in the near-Earth environment, they may have been responsible for bringing water to Earth.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x0014356mwh7ooe90@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Astronomers are also trying to determine why dark comets are so small and rotate so quickly, Taylor said.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x0015356miwnb4cwc@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cIt\u2019s quite possible that the activity on the inner main belt objects was turned on by some sort of physical change, like the destruction of the object, which is suggested by the small sizes and rapid rotation rates of the inner dark comets,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cHowever, these are all hypotheses, and while they\u2019re consistent with all of our data, more work is needed to confirm or falsify these ideas.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4st6a6x0016356mbvptwdhs@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Fortunately, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency\u2019s Hayabusa2 spacecraft is expected to rendezvous with one of the dark comets, 1998 KY26, in 2031 as <a href=\"https:\/\/global.jaxa.jp\/projects\/sas\/hayabusa2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">part of its extended mission<\/a>, which could reveal more of the unique characteristics of these not-so-uncommon celestial objects, Taylor said.\n    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/12\/18\/science\/dark-comets-solar-system\/index.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sign up for CNN\u2019s Wonder Theory science newsletter.\u00a0Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. CNN \u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Astronomers have spotted seven new examples of a cosmic &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=138569\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138569\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}