On the Problem of Prognostication of Bright Kreutz Sungrazers

Fuente: arXiv
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Autore principale: Sekanina, Zdenek
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Sekanina, Zdenek
author_facet Sekanina, Zdenek
contents Tidal fragmentation at perihelion and nontidal fragmentation elsewhere cause the orbital distribution of Kreutz sungrazers of all sizes to be extremely complicated and highly nonuniform. Among the features are (largely fortuitous) clusters of bright (naked-eye) objects and clumps of dwarf objects (often closely genetically related, as their detection primarily by the SOHO coronagraphs suggests) on the one hand; and both spectacular and less brilliant sibling sungrazers, whose perihelion times are scattered over centuries, on the other hand. Investigation of four fragment nuclei of the Great September Comet of 1882, the products of a perihelion breakup of the comet's original nucleus, showed that their orbital periods followed a distinct pattern, which likewise applied to other tidally split sungrazers and was characterized by a specific value of the second difference of parameter u_frg of neighboring fragments' centers of mass. The algorithm has a potential for the prognostication of bright Kreutz sungrazers over the rest of the 21st century and beyond. However, because of its as yet unverified empirical character, the utmost caution should be exercised when applying the procedure.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_09938
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the Problem of Prognostication of Bright Kreutz Sungrazers
Sekanina, Zdenek
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Tidal fragmentation at perihelion and nontidal fragmentation elsewhere cause the orbital distribution of Kreutz sungrazers of all sizes to be extremely complicated and highly nonuniform. Among the features are (largely fortuitous) clusters of bright (naked-eye) objects and clumps of dwarf objects (often closely genetically related, as their detection primarily by the SOHO coronagraphs suggests) on the one hand; and both spectacular and less brilliant sibling sungrazers, whose perihelion times are scattered over centuries, on the other hand. Investigation of four fragment nuclei of the Great September Comet of 1882, the products of a perihelion breakup of the comet's original nucleus, showed that their orbital periods followed a distinct pattern, which likewise applied to other tidally split sungrazers and was characterized by a specific value of the second difference of parameter u_frg of neighboring fragments' centers of mass. The algorithm has a potential for the prognostication of bright Kreutz sungrazers over the rest of the 21st century and beyond. However, because of its as yet unverified empirical character, the utmost caution should be exercised when applying the procedure.
title On the Problem of Prognostication of Bright Kreutz Sungrazers
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.09938