Description

Comet 29P keeps exploding, and scientists are trying to figure out why.
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Between Jupiter and Neptune lurks Centaur 29P, an icy comet that won’t stop exploding. Its wild cryovolcanic outbursts can make it flare 300 times brighter in a matter of hours, but the reason for these random eruptions has long been a mystery. Now, recent discoveries from the James Webb Telescope have provided a clue to the secret trigger powering the chaos. Join us as we investigate the strange case of the solar system’s most explosive comet.



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0:00 Exploding Comet
1:13 Centaur 29P
3:08 Violent Eruptions
5:19 Cryovolcanism
7:51 Predicting Eruptions
9:28 Jets of Gas
10:54 Amorphous vs Crystalline Ice
14:48 The Future



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References:
“Massive eruption from icy volcanic comet detected in solar system”, via livescience.com https://astrumspace.info/29Perupts
“CO Gas and Dust Outbursts from Centaur 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann”, via iop.org https://astrumspace.info/COoutbursts
“Our solar system’s centaurs are half-asteroid, half-comet”, via astronomy.com https://astrumspace.info/centaurs
“NASA’s Webb Reveals Unusual Jets of Volatile Gas from Icy Centaur 29P” https://astrumspace.info/unusualjets29P
“Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 and its near-nucleus environment from a stellar occultation”, via arxiv.org https://astrumspace.info/Centaur29P
“MISSION 29P – Centaur comet observing campaign news”, via britastro.org https://astrumspace.info/29Pobservations
“This mysterious comet’s super-bright outbursts have astronomers puzzled”, via livescience.com https://astrumspace.info/strangeoutbursts
“Anatomy of outbursts and quiescent activity of Comet 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann”, via sciencedirect.com https://astrumspace.info/anatomyofoutbursts
“Centaur 29P Outgassing (NIRSpec)”, via webbtelescope.org https://astrumspace.info/JWSTcentaur29P
“29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1: A Rosetta Stone for Amorphous Water Ice and CO :left_right_arrow: CO2 Conversion in Centaurs and Comets?”, via iop.org https://astrumspace.info/29Picevolcano



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Credits:
Writer: Julia Masselos
Video Editor: Matheus L. Heberlê
Researcher: Edie Abrahams
Script Editor: Damaris McColgan
Thumbnail Designer: Peter Sheppard
Channel Manager: Georgina Brenner
Production Manager: Raquel Taylor
Head of Astrum: Jess Jordan
Creator of Astrum: Alex McColgan



With special thanks to:
NASA/ESO/ESA



#Astrum #Space #Comet #Centaur29P