Tailless comet could provide clues to solar system’s formation

Reuters : Discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, C/2014 S3 is the first comet ever observed to have no tail. Most comets, which form in the distant, frigid parts of the solar system, stream a bright trail of vaporized ice as they approach the heat of the Sun. Despite originating in the Oort cloud, the same region of space as typical tailed comets, C/2014 S3 lacks the ice and other frozen compounds those comets contain. Instead, the comet appears to be made of rocky materials normally found nearer Earth. In a study published in Science Advances, Karen Meech of the University of Hawaii and her colleagues say the comet may be made of material formed in the inner solar system and ejected billions of years ago. If so, it could provide clues to the solar system’s formation and whether the planets migrated significantly before settling into their present configuration.