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To: webheart; cgbg; Nateman
Never said "ten thousand" years, even a perfect direct hit on say Alpha Centauri from a rogue comet from here would take many 10's of 1000's of years to get there at a high speed. "Interstellar" suggests that the distance could be billions of light years away, the writer is totally ignorant.

This comet was outgassing suggesting it is of a softer makeup, there is a myriad of scientific articles that describe how comets can break up over time, this is just one example:

Hubble provides spectacular view of ongoing comet break-up

Even try a simple search on Google: can comets break up

AI Overview:

Internal Stresses:

As comets spin, jets of gas and dust can be ejected, causing them to spin faster and faster. This rapid rotation generates internal stress, leading to cracks and eventual fragmentation of the nucleus.

Thermal Stresses:

As a comet approaches the Sun, its ices sublimate (turn directly into gas), releasing gases and dust. This process can create cracks and fissures on the surface, leading to the comet's eventual breakage.

The Breakup Process

1. Initial Cracks:

Internal stresses or solar heating can create cracks and rifts in the irregularly shaped, porous cometary nucleus.

2. Outgassing and Fragmentation:

Volatiles released from the interior into these cracks contribute to increasing the stress and the rate of gas and dust emission.

3. Definitive Breakage:
The widened rifts can lead to the final splitting of the comet's nucleus into multiple fragments.

42 posted on 08/28/2025 6:24:12 AM PDT by quantim (Victory is not relative, it is absolute.)
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To: quantim

1I/ʻOumuamua did not exhibit any of the characteristic you list, and after doing a slingshot orbit around the Sun, it changed course while speeding up. Its rotation did not alter & it did not emit any gasses in the process.


55 posted on 08/28/2025 10:37:47 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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