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Young Observers |  |
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Young Observers | |
Comet LINEAR was discovered accidentally in Sept. 1999 by a robotic telescope designed to find asteroids that might come close to the Earth. Whenever a comet passes close to the Sun, some of the dust and ice in its frozen core vaporizes and forms a long beautiful tail.
Instead, Comet LINEAR blew apart as solar heating disrupted the comet's fragile icy core. It was a disappointment for casual stargazers, but astronomers using telescopes had a ringside seat for the breakup. An opportunity like that doesn't come along every day!
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This page last modified: September 16,
2000
For comments or suggestions on this planet page, please write to Debra Tigner or Chris Teron |
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