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[music] In 1743, observers claimed

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to have seen a comet with 6 tails.

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Little did they know that the streaks behind the comet could be related to the origins

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of the solar system. In time,

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scientists theorized that the dust in a comet’s tail had been combed out into bands known as striae.

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How the striae formed, however, was still a mystery.

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How dust behaves in a comet’s tail is exciting

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because comets are the leftover building blocks of the solar system. By watching the material clump

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and fragment in the tail, we can gain insights

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into the same process that forms dust into planets, moons, or asteroids.

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In 2007, researchers were able to capture images of Comet McNaught

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with NASA and ESA’s SOHO and STEREO spacecraft.

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Today, researchers are introducing the latest step in

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analyzing footage like this: a new image mapping technique.

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When the technique is applied, it seamlessly combines perspectives from multiple

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spacecraft, giving us a clearer picture of how the dust trail changes over time.

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In the processed footage, we see the

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new striations form. Their alignment relative to the Sun

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indicates that the star might play a role in striae formation, as well

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as fragmentation. We can also see how the clean lines

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are disrupted when the comet crosses the current sheet, the boundary where the solar

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wind's magnetic field changes orientation. Notice

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how the defined lines become broken. This tells

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us that the dust is charged and that the characteristic lines of the magnetic field in the solar

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system are affecting it.

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Scientists can use the new processing tool to study dust behavior in other comets.

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When it comes to learning how comets can teach us about our origins,

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we've only just caught this by the tail.

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tone

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tone

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beeping