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Dark Comet

Kumari Sonali

Dark Comet:

NASA scientists are closely studying a new class of celestial objects known as “dark comets”.

  • They are celestial bodies which lack the glowing tails (a typical feature of comets) and resemble asteroids.
  • They are often small, just a few meters to a few hundred meters wide.
  • They have less surface area for material to escape and form into the beautiful tails we see on typical comets.
  • But they are not asteroids due to their sudden accelerations.
  • They often spin quite rapidly and disperse escaping gas and dust in all directions, making them less visible.
  • They follow elongated, elliptical paths that bring them close to the Sun before sweeping back out to the farthest reaches of the Solar System.
  • The first indication of dark comets came in 2016, when asteroid 2003 RM exhibited unusual orbital deviations.
  • Since then, astronomers have confirmed the existence of dark comets, with a new study published which revealed 14 such objects.
  • These comets fall into two main categories: “outer dark comets,” which have eccentric orbits and are larger, and “inner dark comets,” which are smaller and closer to the Sun, with nearly circular orbits.

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