What happened to comet Elenin?
The comet began breaking up after getting hammered by a powerful solar storm in August, and a close pass by the sun on Sept. 10 apparently finished Elenin off, scientists say. So what cruised by Earth over the weekend was likely a stream of debris, not an intact comet.
What comet passed Earth in 2010?
Comet 103P
2010 Earth approach Comet 103P passing within 0.12AU of Earth on 20 October 2010.
How big is the smallest comet?
Comet 103P/Hartley (Hartley 2) is a small, oval (or peanut) shaped comet — its nucleus measures approximately one mile (1.6 kilometers) in diameter. It takes Hartley 2 about 6.47 years to orbit the Sun once.
What is the largest size of a comet?
The latest estimates put the comet’s nucleus at about 93 miles (150 kilometers) wide. That’s by far the biggest size estimate for a comet in decades. By contrast, comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, which the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft orbited from 2014 to 2016, was only about 2.5 miles wide.
What is Halley’s comet made of?
Thje nucleus of halley’s comet 80 % water Ice 15% carbon monoxide rest Methane, carbon di oxide and ammonia.
How big was the comet that killed the dinosaurs?
Folks in the asteroid camp think the impactor was about 6.2 miles (10 km) in diameter. Asteroid or comet fragment, the space rock was big enough to spur one of Earth’s six known mass extinctions.
What happens if a comet hits the sun?
Nothing will happen. The mass and the heat of the Sun are of such magnitude that even the biggest object in the solar system, Jupiter, hitting the Sun would cause just a momentary hiccup, and comets are actually tiny objects in the scale of the solar system.
What comet was visible in the 1950s?
Comet Hale–Bopp
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 2520–2533 yr (Barycentric 2391 yr) |
| Inclination | 89.4° |
| Dimensions | 40–80 km |
| Nucleus albedo | 0.01–0.07 |
How far will Comet Elenin be from Earth?
Elenin will pass about 22 million miles (35 million kilometers) from Earth during its closest approach on Oct. 16, 2011. Also known by its astronomical name C/2010 X1, the comet was first detected on Dec. 10, 2010 by Leonid Elenin, an observer in Lyubertsy, Russia, who made the discovery “remotely” using an observatory in New Mexico.
What happened to Comet Elenin?
Comet Elenin is no more. Latest indications are this relatively small comet has broken into even smaller, even less significant, chunks of dust and ice. This trail of piffling particles will remain on the same path as the original comet, completing its unexceptional swing through the inner solar system this fall.
What is comet C/2010 X1?
Also known by its astronomical name C/2010 X1, the comet was first detected on Dec. 10, 2010 by Leonid Elenin, an observer in Lyubertsy, Russia, who made the discovery “remotely” using an observatory in New Mexico. At that time, Elenin was about 401 million miles (647 million kilometers) from Earth.
What is the closest comet to Earth?
Comet Elenin, the latest comet to visit our inner solar system, is no exception. Elenin will pass about 22 million miles (35 million kilometers) from Earth during its closest approach on Oct. 16, 2011.