{
  "id": 20178059,
  "title": "How escaping gases ripped apart a comet and caused it to become thousands of times brighter",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/how-escaping-gases-ripped-apart-a-comet-and-caused-it-to-become",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-15T13:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Space.com",
    "slug": "space-com",
    "url": "https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/how-escaping-gases-ripped-apart-a-comet-and-caused-it-to-become-thousands-of-times-brighter"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the summer of 2022, the comet known as 220P/McNaught captured the attention of skywatchers as it became thousands of times brighter than usual. Discovered by Australian comet hunter Robert McNaught in 2004, the periodic comet returns to our solar system every 5.5 years. This particular comet is typically too faint to be seen with most amateur telescopes, but it underwent a dramatic transformation in 2022.\n\nOn June 14, 220P/McNaught began its sudden and unexpected brightening as it approached perihelion, the point in its orbit closest to the sun. Initially magnitudes +17.39, the comet brightened rapidly, reaching magnitude +11.05 within 14 hours, and becoming observable with small amateur telescopes. By June 2, the comet shone at magnitude +8.23, visible briefly in 10x50 binoculars under dark skies.\n\nBy the time the comet reached perihelion on June 22, it had faded back to magnitude +12. However, the real show began with a second outburst at the end of July. The comet brightened from magnitude +14 on July 28 to magnitude 6.1 by August 6, dramatically increasing its brightness by a factor of 250 within just half a day. Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez, a researcher from the Institut de Ciències de l’Espai and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia in Spain, attributed this explosive outburst to the sublimation of ice beneath the comet's surface, resulting in an explosive release of tens to hundreds of billions of pounds of dust into space.\n\nTrigo-Rodríguez highlighted the importance of studying such outbursts, as they provide valuable insights into the bulk characteristics of Jupiter-family comets, which originate from regions beyond Neptune. The study of these outbursts also offers a unique opportunity to understand the tensile strength and properties of comets, which may one day help mitigate potential collision hazards with Earth.",
  "summary": "This summer, comet 220P/McNaught burst into life out of nowhere to become one of the year’s highlights for amateur astronomers.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}