It Came From Outside Our Solar System and Now It’s Breaking Up

NYTimes ^ | 4/7/20 | Joshua Sokol

[LibWhacker]

It came from beyond our solar system. But the sun wasn’t content to let it leave in peace, or in one piece.

Comet 2I/Borisov, an Eiffel Tower-sized clod of dust and ice, plunged into our solar system last fall, exhaling vapor as it buzzed nearest to our sun around Christmas. This alien visitor must have formed around a distant and unknown star.

It slumbered as it crossed the frozen gulf of interstellar space. But now, suddenly, the sleeper is awake and kicking. To the simultaneous delight and frustration of the world’s astronomers, Borisov has sloughed off at least one fragment over the last few weeks.

The action began last month — March 2020, of all times — when the Hubble telescope spotted at least one chunk of the comet breaking off like a calving iceberg. That clump has since fizzed away into nothingness.

These fireworks offer astronomers a unique glimpse at the exposed guts of this interstellar object, just the second humanity has ever spotted. The first visitor from another star system, 2017’s 1I/Oumuamua, behaved like an inert hunk of rock. “This one has now cracked open its gooey center and we can see what’s inside,” said Michele Bannister, a planetary astronomer at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

[LibWhacker]

“The classic phrase is that comets are like cats,” Dr. Bannister said. “They don’t do what you expect. Or what you want.”

[Wally_Kalbacken]

All we need is a comet strike that blows away most of the earth’s population and then delivers a virus from another galaxy that finishes the job. Oy!

[JustaTech]

The classic phrase is that comets are like cats

This is one is even horking up hairballs, sort of.

[grey_whiskers]

“The classic phrase is that comets are like cats,” Dr. Bannister said. “They don’t do what you expect. Or what you want.”

With a straight line like *that*, how can I possibly resist?

[DoodleBob]

This one has now cracked open its gooey center and we can see what’s inside

[MrEdd]

Breaking up is hard to do.

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Hopefully it’s Harry and Meghan...

[higgmeister]

It Came From Outside Our Solar System and Now It’s Breaking Up

As Oscar said, "we can rebuild him." "We have the technology."