Two comets burning up in the solar atmosphere over a period of several hours were captured by the LASCO space records on October 10 and 11. The unique footage captured a rare phenomenon – the instantaneous death of the oldest objects in the solar system, whose ages can be calculated in billions of years, the solar astronomy laboratory of the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences said. Solar-terrestrial physics of SB RAS.
“Comets are born from primordial clouds of gas and dust during the formation of the Solar System and are among the oldest celestial bodies, some older than the Sun,” the lab noted.
According to astronomers, the observed objects may have a common origin. Scientists do not rule out that these are two fragments of a large comet, destroyed by a collision with an unknown object. As a result of this collision, the orbit may have changed, causing debris to come dangerously close to the star.
Experts note that large comets sometimes survive several passes through the solar halo, gradually losing mass and disintegrating. However, small objects like this will die on the first approach, evaporating under the influence of extreme temperatures up to millions of degrees.
Some groups of collapsed comets that form entire families have their own names. Astronomers acknowledge that these two objects may be part of a similar family. However, according to them, there may have been two lonely wanderers passing in front of the LASCO lens – the last fragments of a large comet that died long ago on the outskirts of the solar system.
