Comet Elenin tired of doomsday finger pointing

Maybe it just couldn’t take all the publicity. It appears Comet Elenin might be breaking up and fading. Recent observations from Australian comet observers indicate the comet, which began dimming a week ago, is still fainter than expected. A likely explanation is that the comet nucleus might be in the process of breakup. I mean how much hype can a comet handle?

A week after witnessing the comet’s dramatic fading on August 20, amateur astronomer Michael Mattiazzo of Castlemaine in Victoria, Australia noted that by last night (Aug. 27) the comet’s nucleus (bright inner region of the coma) had spread into “a dim, elongated diffuse smudge.” He estimates Elenin’s brightness at 9th magnitude.

The latest images from Michael Mattiazzo show more dimming and an elongated nucleus, which might indicate break-up of the nucleus.   See Southern Comets Homepage

Comet Elenin August 27 Image

Related posts:

1. Comet Elenin: White House letter addresses “US Must Prepare For Comet Collision With Earth”
2. Comet Elenin Heads Towards Earth (Video)
3. Coming To The Night Sky, The Comet Fifteen Times Brighter Than The Moon
4. Elenin Comet: 2 Assassinated Astronomers… End of the World?
5. Near-Earth Threats, NASA and Elenin – a Civilized Analysis