2I / Borisov wouldn’t be around for very long. In accordance what astronomers had already noticed, the second interstellar visitor in our history would be close to disintegration.
Hubble has in fact enabled a research team to confirm the first observations made by their colleagues. According to an article published in the Astronomer’s Telegram, comet 2I / Borisov would have great difficulty in maintaining its physical integrity.
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In other words, it is currently disintegrating.
2I / Borisov is disintegrating
Three successive readings were thus made on March 23, March 28 and March 30. The images from the first survey revealed the existence of a single core of internal light. Exactly like all previous readings made before.
On the other hand, and as David Jewitt points out, the other surveys showed slightly different results.
That of March 30 thus highlighted as an offset of the nucleus, an offset aligned with the tail of the comet. Researchers deduce that his heart is losing its stability, which is not surprising.
Unlike asteroids, comets have a core made of ice. And of course, this nucleus changes when the body approaches a powerful source of heat, notably by releasing gases.
2I / Borisov has just reached his perihelion, and therefore the point closest to our star, on December 8. The nucleus has therefore undergone alterations and this is precisely what these surveys reveal.
An opportunity to study it
Surveys that show very clearly that the nucleus has been altered and that the comet’s body is falling apart. Very concretely, this means that 2I / Borisov is disintegrating and the process is also well under way.
If the fate of this visitor from afar seems sealed, this dislocation represents a tremendous opportunity for astronomers. It will allow them to study the body in more detail and obtain images of its spectrum.
Images which should help us to know if this interstellar comet has the same attributes as our own comets.
If 2I / Borisov is not the first interstellar body to enter our system – the palm goes to Oumuamua – it will still have allowed us to learn a lot about these objects. Spotted when it entered our system, it has indeed given us a little more time to study it. And this gradual disintegration will allow us to learn a little more about it.
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