Once-Promising Green Comet Breaks Apart Before Earthbound Viewers Could See It – The Daily Galaxy
2025-04-22T15:00:00Z
Comet SWAN was set to light up the night sky — until it crumbled near the Sun, leaving nothing but cosmic dust behind.
A much-anticipated green comet that had stirred excitement among amateur astronomers and skywatchers around the world has met a dramatic and disappointing end. The icy object, known as Comet SWAN (C/2025 F2), originated from the far edges of the solar system and was expected to become faintly visible after sunset this month. But according to a report from Phys.org, the comet likely broke apart after its close encounter with the Sun — dashing hopes for a rare naked-eye sighting.
Now fading fast, the comet’s collapse marks yet another case of a cosmic wanderer that couldn’t survive its fiery solar debut.
A Relic from the Oort Cloud Meets a Fiery End
Hailing from the Oort Cloud, a distant shell of icy bodies surrounding the solar system, comet SWAN was first spotted by amateur astronomers analyzing images captured by a Sun-monitoring spacecraft jointly operated by NASA and the European Space Agency. With its vivid green glow and tail streaming behind, it quickly became a target for telescopes and binoculars.
But its dramatic journey near the Sun proved too intense. According to astrophysicist Karl Battams of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the comet likely crumbled under the solar heat and gravitational forces during its close pass.
“We’ll soon be left with just a dusty rubble pile,” Battams noted in an email.
What Skywatchers Missed
Initially, astronomers had hoped comet SWAN would brighten enough to become visible to the naked eye, glowing just above the western horizon shortly after sunset. Its unique green hue, caused by the breakdown of diatomic carbon in sunlight, would have added a vivid splash of color to the spring skies — but only for those in dark, clear-sky locations.
Unfortunately, the comet faded fast after its solar flyby. While it remained detectable through telescopes, the fragile body was not resilient enough to survive its first recorded passage around the Sun.
“It’s going to go so far out that we have no idea if it’s ever going to return,” Battams said, adding that this may have been SWAN’s one and only trip through the inner solar system.
This image provided by Mike Olason shows the newly-discovered comet SWAN on April 6, 2025. Credit: Mike Olason via AP
A Familiar Story Among Fragile Wanderers
Comets are made of ice, rock, and dust — fragile material left over from the birth of the solar system. Their paths occasionally send them diving toward the Sun, where intense heat and tidal forces often fracture or vaporize them completely. It’s a fate shared by many newcomers, especially those like SWAN making their first solar approach.
This latest disappointment echoes similar events in recent years. While comets like NEOWISE (2020) and Hale-Bopp (1997) offered stunning views, others — such as Atlas (2020) and now SWAN — have failed to live up to their glowing potential.
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