Weblogsky: Exploding Comet

Exploding Comet

Tiny comet 17P Holmes, generally invisible to the naked eye, seems to be exploding. [Link]

... the outburst has left experts scratching their heads. How could a tiny comet, whose nucleus is no more than two miles across, grow so bright so fast? Perhaps a crack opened in the comet’s surface, exposing fresh ice to the sun and causing an explosive eruption of dust and gas. No one knows for sure.

jon posted this at 12:19 AM
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