Halley comet lights

1991/09/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Astronomia

In recent months, the comet Halley is almost invisible, but periodically carries lights. The comet is moving away from us on the way around the sun and last February, for example, it was 2,140 million kilometers away. Even the largest telescopes at that distance hardly see the light reflecting the nucleus of the comet. However, from the European southern observatory in Chile, astronomers Olivier Hainaut and Alain Smette have detected special lights. When the comet was between Saturn and Uranus, the almost invisible nucleus became a luminous nebula. The brightness was 300 times higher than before.

Different opinions have been published to clarify this phenomenon. An unknown object outside the galaxy could collide with the comet and eject the energy stored in its core. The interaction of high-energy particles from the solar wind with the comet core can result in this type of fire.