14 DAY TRIAL // Astronomers have for a long time attempted to develop methods of predicting when a comet will begin to emit dust and ice particles from its central region. Called a nucleus, these areas look like they are made of rocks, but they are in fact made of frozen ice. In a recent investigation, a team of experts was finally able to produce a computer model, which allows them to identify the places on cometary nuclei that will spew out particles with great accuracy.
Conducting investigations on comets the old-fashioned way – using spacecrafts to travel there and take a closer look – is both dangerous and impractical. It takes a lot of time for a probe to get to where the comets usually “hang out” and, even then, they can easily be destroyed by the trail of debris these wandering objects leave behind. This is where the new model steps in. It eliminates the need to send spacecrafts out into space, as well as the costs associated with doing so. The model was created by German scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Space reports.
The greatest thing about using this method is that it allows scientists to conduct all the research they need based only on data obtained from Earth. In past studies, the real challenge has always been to create accurate, three-dimensional (3D) representations of the comets. Given that the photos taken from Earth are 2D, in the sense that they all convey information about an object from the same perspective, what the MPS team did was basically develop a way in which to add the third dimension to the images they were looking at.
“Pictures taken from Earth show the comet and its jets as a two-dimensional projection,” MPS team member Hermann Böhnhardt explains. “Until now, computer programs trying to find the active regions assumed the comet as a sphere or ellipsoid,” though that may not always be the case, adds Jean-Baptiste Vincent, who is also based at the MPS. He adds that cometary nuclei are a lot more complex than astronomers first made them out to be. They contain volatile substances such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and water. These chemicals are generally concentrated into active regions. Searching for them basically yields the locations of the regions of interest, the team says.