SPACE TECH
Escaping Gases Triggered Massive Brightening in Comet 220P/McNaught
Solar heat converted subsurface ice to gas, spewing billions of pounds of dust and causing the comet to flare thousands of times brighter.
Periodic Comet 220P/McNaught experienced a dramatic outburst this summer as intense solar heat vaporized subsurface ice, forcing pressurized gas and hundreds of billions of pounds of dust into space. Normally languishing below detection thresholds for amateur telescopes, the comet's sudden eruption caused its brightness to surge by thousands of times.
Discovered in 2004, the comet orbits the sun every five and a half years. This unprecedented outgassing event has provided astronomers with crucial observational data regarding cometary mechanics and thermal outbursts.