Breaking comets
Master dregree in Physics in scattering theory. PhD in Physics in group theory (ray representation in quantum mechanics). After a master in e-learning I'm Chief Editor / Deputy Editor for EduINAF, INAF magazine about outreach and astronomy education.
Comet Atlas, portrait by Tim Connolly
First of all I start from Atlas, a new comet that is coming here! It will arrive at the end of May, passing only 0.25 AU from the sun. It could be a good opportunity for amateurs to observe a new object in the sky, but there is a not so reassuring news:
New data from astronomers around the world show that the once-promising comet is beginning to fade.
- via spaceweather.com
This is not the only bad news: the first insterstellar comet, 2I/Borisov, that it goes away from the Sun with a speed of about 17 km/s (it will reach a speed of 32 m/s), seems to have lost a piece of the core (ATel #13611, ATel #13613).
