Dark comet

Dark comets are a special group of space rocks called asteroids that sometimes act a bit like comets. Unlike typical comets, which grow bright tails and fuzzy clouds when they get close to the Sun, dark comets look just like regular asteroids. But scientists noticed something special about them: they move in ways that can't be explained by gravity alone, causing them to change their paths in space.

These unusual objects were first recognized as their own group in 2023. Dark comets come in two main types. The outer dark comets are usually bigger and have orbits far from the Sun, while the inner dark comets are smaller and stay closer to the Sun. Studying these objects helps us learn more about the many different kinds of objects that travel through our solar system and how they move along their paths in orbital path.

Discovery

The first object that showed "dark comet" behavior was ‘Oumuamua, discovered in 2017. It moved in a way that comets usually do, but it did not have the bright cloud or tail that comets normally show.

Scientists later found more objects in the asteroid belt that moved like comets. By 2024, they had found 14 of these objects. Some were larger and reflected more light, while others were smaller and had more circular paths around the sun.

Exploration

Japan's Hayabusa2 mission is planned to visit the asteroid 1998 KY26, which was later found to be a dark comet. This meeting will happen in July 2031 and will help scientists understand more about how dark comets act and move.