I've been thinking about the CME event
that contacted comet Elenin on the 19th of August and have
wondered if the CME somehow caused the decrease in observable
activity as well as the elongation of the inner coma seen for a few
days after the event. Had there been no CME event I would, like
everyone else, assume that what we were seeing was the result of an
ordinary breakup and disintegration. However, with the CME in play
something completely different could be happening. This started me
thinking about what would happen if a polarized CME contacted a comet
in such a way that the nucleus became either negatively or positively
charged. Would the charge prevent the normal formation and visual
activity of the coma and or tails? Is this what has happened with
comet Elenin? Could this also be an explanation for the two known
spectacular outbursts of comet Holmes?
Let's say that because a CME originates
at an area of intense magnetic fields, that those magnetic fields at
the moment of ejection sometimes cause a separation of charge on rare
occasions, such that, a cloud of charge, both negative and positive
flows out with the normal plasma ejecta. And then, this charge cloud
contacts the nucleus of a comet in such a way that only the
positively or negatively charged part of the ejecta cloud makes
contact. How would this contact occur dynamically and what would be
the effects of this charge residing on the surface of the nucleus?
There are numerous dynamic electric
field and magnetic field interactions that can be envisioned, but I
want to propose an interaction that covers the elongation of the
inner coma of comet Elenin as a start. A negative charging event
would have less inertia and would be very different from a positive
charging event having more inertia and to get a good visualization of
the dynamics a numerical simulation would be needed, however, one
effect that might occur is the slowing down of the alpha or beta
charges as a result of colliding with the coma, thus forming a
magnetic field. This magnetic field would either have a focusing of
charge on the nucleus or a deflection of charge, depending on whether
the charge cloud was negative or positive. Once the nucleus was
charged the resulting electric field would then begin to effect the
normal flow of the solar wind in various ways depending on whether
the nucleus ended up being negatively or positively charged. This
solar wind flow interaction with the electric field would need to be
such that the nucleus could not be readily neutralized either by
means of the effects of a electric field and inertia or the effects
of magnetic field and inertia.
The Roland experiment is a means for
charge on the nucleus producing a magnetic a field. If you haven’t
heard of the Roland experiment, take a look at section 5 of this PDF:
Basically, Henry Rowland was a Hopkins
university scientist who did experiments where he rotated a
dielectric disc with charged conductive sectors and detected a
magnetic field as a result of the rotating charge. So if the nucleus
had enough rotational speed a magnetic field could result and if of
sufficient strength could be a means for deflection of the solar
wind.
There would need to be a large
deflection of the solar wind so as to explain the appearance of
decreased activity as well as the initial stretching out of the coma
as in the case of what may have happened with comet Elenin. The
deflection of charge could for example act in such a way so as to
curve charge around the nucleus and concentrate the coma into an
elongated shape.
Once a nucleus was sufficiently
charged, I would like to propose that it not only stays charged but
the electric or magnetic fields deflect the solar wind in such a way
as the coma and or tails are unaffected and consequently do not show
up much in normal observations. Also that, the nucleus continues to
remain active via thermal interaction, but that gasses and dust
remain near the nucleus until an event occurs that ignites one of the
volatile gasses with oxygen liberated from water via UV degradation.
The ignition could occur as a result of a meteoroid or asteroid
impact or a superheated green house effect or other event that
sufficiently heats any accumulated volatile gases to the ignition
point.
Is there any direct evidence for this
whatsoever? Nothing obvious that I can think of at this time.
However, if come the beginning of October when we'll get a good look
at comet Elenin with some of the larger telescopes in the Northern
hemisphere and there is no visual sign of either a break up or
disintegration, then we'll need to start thinking of some kind of CME
related explanation. I did notice that the Hubble image of the inner
coma of the comet Holmes outburst appears as an anisotropic hourglass
shape.
This same hourglass shape is seen in
some supernovae remnants such as the ant nebula.
This hourglass formation could be a
result of charged ejecta material moving more readily along magnetic
field lines as opposed to across magnetic field lines and something
similar could have happened during the comet Holmes outburst.
Sometime tomorrow we will get a little more data
from the NASA spacecraft SOHO when comet Elenin will move into its
field of view. Then, three days later comet Elenin will be directly
between the earth and the sun and will start to then move away from
the sun allowing a view from earth. There is the possibility, if I'm
correct in what I've proposed, that we could see a flareup of comet
Elenin any time between now and the end of the year. If I am wrong,
we will see with our most powerful telescopes that comet Elenin did
in fact breakup and disintegrate, starting strangely at the same time
the CME made contact with it.
