The Dark Comets
Prof. Darryl Seligman
Michigan State University
Small bodies not only trace the formation and evolution of their host systems, but also deliver material to planets vital for the development of life. In recent years, an entirely new class of planetesimals has been discovered in the solar system: dark comets. The dark comets are small bodies which exhibit significant nongravitational accelerations only explainable by the outgassing of volatiles, without any evidence of cometary tails. These still-enigmatic objects are challenging our understanding of the behavior and properties of comets and asteroids. 1I/‘Oumuamua was the first macroscopic interstellar object discovered traversing the inner Solar System — and the first dark comet. In this talk, I will review the mysterious properties that 1I/‘Oumuamua exhibited and present our recent hypotheses that can explain its unusual behavior. I will also present new results that clearly show that there are two distinct, but possibly related, families of dark comets within the Solar System. These objects represent a previously undetected — but potentially vast — population of small bodies that may have provided material to the Earth essential for the development of life such as volatiles and organics.
Hosted by Prof. Weiss
Originally published at physics.nd.edu.