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Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN) Disintegrates: Sky-gazers Witness Celestial Object’s Demise. The recently discovered Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN), once anticipated to offer a spectacular viewing opportunity, appears to have disintegrated as it approached the sun. Astronomers are observing the remnant dust cloud, offering a final glimpse of the icy space object for sky-gazers.
Comet SWAN’s Untimely End
Excitement often accompanies the emergence of a new comet. However, these ancient celestial bodies, composed of ice, frozen gases, and rock, frequently face destruction as they journey closer to the sun. This fate seems to have befallen Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN).
Qicheng Zang, a postdoctoral fellow specializing in small body astronomy at Lowell Observatory, noted that indications suggest the comet, initially observed as a hazy green patch, has likely broken apart in recent days.
Dr. Karl Battams, a computational scientist at the US Naval Research Laboratory, corroborated this assessment, stating that current telescopic observations from Earth suggest the comet’s fragmentation.
Further observations are expected to ascertain if disintegration is indeed the reason behind the comet’s apparent surge in brightness followed by dimming.
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Zang mentioned that a residual dust cloud should remain visible through telescopes for several weeks, although it will become increasingly diffuse and faint.
Observers in the Northern Hemisphere may still be able to spot the comet’s remnants in the early morning sky.
Prior to its disintegration, the comet garnered attention due to its recent discovery and anticipated close approach to the sun on May 1, an event projected as a unique viewing opportunity unlikely to recur for millennia, if ever, as it might exit the solar system entirely.
Now, sky-gazers are witnessing the final passage of the comet’s remnant.
Discovery and Naming of Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN)
The comet derives its designation from the Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) instrument aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, a collaborative endeavor between the European Space Agency and NASA. Amateur astronomers Vladimir Bezugly, Michael Mattiazzo, and Rob Matson independently identified and reported the object, dubbed Comet SWAN or SWAN25F, while examining images captured by the SWAN instrument in late March. The Minor Planet Center officially recognized it as C/2025 F2 (SWAN) on April 8.
According to Battams, the three astronomers “noticed a faint smudge, suggestive of a comet, that appeared to move across the sky over several days.”
“Since no known comet was expected in that region of the sky at that time, they correctly deduced it was a new discovery,” Battams explained.
Battams also serves as the principal investigator for the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph instrument suite on the SOHO spacecraft, which images the sun’s atmosphere using three telescopes.
For those hoping to observe the remnant, Battams recommends looking “low to the northeast horizon an hour or two before sunrise.”
He added that visibility from the Northern Hemisphere will be limited to early May, after which it will progressively ascend in the southern hemisphere skies.
Remember to search near the horizon, rather than directly overhead, for the best chance of spotting it.
Comet Fragmentation Explained
Battams noted that preliminary reports indicated a slight decrease in the comet’s initial luminosity in recent days.
Astronomers now believe this subtle dimming likely foreshadowed the comet’s ultimate fate.
Zang elaborated, “It now seems probable that the surge in brightness following the comet’s discovery was actually the onset of its disintegration. When comets begin to break apart, the ice within is exposed to the Sun, causing rapid vaporization (observed as the green glow that enhanced the comet’s brightness).”
As the ice depletes, gas emission gradually ceases, and the comet appears dimmer, he clarified.
“It appears we have now reached a point where the ice and gas are virtually exhausted, leaving only dust behind.”
Scientists speculate that the comet originated from the Oort Cloud, a vast region of icy bodies thought to reside at the solar system’s periphery, far beyond the sun’s warmth.
Battams explained, “Occasionally, an Oort Cloud comet is gravitationally perturbed, causing it to venture inward towards the Sun. This particular comet is believed to have been traveling inward for approximately 35,000 years, although precise timelines are difficult to ascertain.”
EarthSky reports suggest the comet completes one orbit around the sun roughly every 2.1 million years.
As comets approach the sun, solar heat induces the release of gas and dust, forming their characteristic tails.
Larger, more massive comets are less prone to disintegration near the sun. However, smaller comets are more susceptible because gas release causes them to spin faster until they break apart, according to Zang.
Battams added, “The intense solar radiation proved too much for this comet to withstand. Researchers are still investigating the specific mechanisms driving such fragmentation events. It is likely a combination of factors, but fundamentally, it stems from a comet with a highly volatile composition venturing too close to the Sun. This is a relatively common occurrence, and I am not particularly surprised that this comet appears to be undergoing this process.”
Last October, the “Halloween comet” also disintegrated during its closest solar approach.
That comet, known as Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS), was discovered on September 27 and nicknamed due to speculations about its visibility in the night sky near Halloween. However, as it neared the sun, it fragmented and ultimately dissipated, according to NASA.
C/2024 S1 was a sungrazer, comets that pass within approximately 850,000 miles of the sun. Sungrazers frequently vaporize due to the sun’s extreme heat.
Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN) was projected to pass within 31 million miles of the sun in May.
Observing the Comet Fragment
Zang indicated that the remnant will appear in the constellation Andromeda in the northeastern sky a couple of hours before sunrise. Subsequently, the dust cloud is expected to reappear in the night sky by late April. The new moon on April 27 should enhance visibility.
The Planetary Society notes that observers in the Southern Hemisphere will have better viewing opportunities in May.
The celestial remnant will appear near the constellation Taurus above the western horizon after sunset, ascending higher in the sky each night throughout May.
SWAN Instrument’s Unexpected Comet Discoveries
Despite not being designed for comet detection, the SWAN instrument has contributed to the discovery of 16 comets to date, Zang stated.
Battams elaborated, “It is a specialized instrument designed to map hydrogen in our solar system by detecting a specific type of light scattered by neutral hydrogen atoms. Comets, rich in hydrogen due to water-ice vaporization by the Sun, often exhibit significant brightness in SWAN images.”