'Rock Comet' Used To Just Be An Asteroid | Video Sun-grazing asteroid Phaethon, has given away its true identity by showing its tail. NASA's STEREO spacecraft captured imagery of the asteroid ejecting dust between 2009 and 2012. This looped time-lapse shows the asteroid in 2009.
Sept. 11, 2013 - SPACE.com
Phaethon confirmed as rock comet by STEREO vision The Sun-grazing asteroid, Phaethon, has betrayed its true nature by showing a comet-like tail of dust particles blown backwards by radiation pressure from the Sun. Unlike a comet, however, Phaethon’s tail doesn’t arise through the vaporization of an icy nucleus. During its closest approach to the Sun, researchers believe that Phaethon becomes so hot that rocks on the surface crack and crumble to ...
Sept. 10, 2013 - Science Daily
New Insights On The 'Rock Comet' Phaethon Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Phaethon is a confusing sun-grazing asteroid, complete with a tail of dust particles similar to what is seen on a comet. But what makes it an asteroid rather than a comet? Scientists at the European Planetary Science Congress in London have helped explain this apparent conundrum. According to research presented by David Jewitt, Phaethon's tail ...
Sept. 10, 2013 - redOrbit