The meticulous monitoring of comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann (29P) has paid off as scientists have directly observed a violent eruption from a mysterious cryovolcano.
According to Live Science, a cryovolcano is a type of volcano that is the complete opposite of those found on Earth, and can only be found on celestial bodies that reside in the distant, frigid regions of the Solar System.
Astronomers recently predicted that 29P was on the verge of an eruption, prompting them to add it to their close observation list.
Indeed, in early April, a team of scientists from the British Astronomical Association (BAA) observed a dramatic increase in brightness of 29P. Subsequent light analysis data confirmed that this was indeed a cryovolcanic eruption on the comet.
Comet 29P – (Photo: NASA).
According to Spaceweather, the latest eruption resembled the spectacle of a cork popping out of a champagne bottle, although scientists have not yet been able to quantify its strength accurately.
The bright flash during the cryovolcanic eruption is due to light being reflected from gases and ice, also referred to as “cryomagma”, as the comet enters a sublimation phase closer to the Sun.
Previously, in November 2022, another eruption from this comet released over 1 million tons of cryomagma into space, becoming the second such explosion recorded in the past 12 years.
However, like all other comet eruptions, scientists could not predict when the 2022 eruption would occur, making it impossible to observe it directly and fully as they did this time.
The latest event will provide them with clearer data to better understand the mysterious cryovolcanoes in the Solar System.
Cryovolcanoes also exist on other icy bodies; besides comets, moons of other planets like Saturn’s Enceladus or Neptune’s Triton are also believed to have cryovolcanoes.
29P is one of the comets belonging to the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune, but has since been pushed into a region closer to the Sun, around Jupiter.
