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CoolHand [soylentnews.org] writes:

I really thought this had been submitted, but I don't see it in the sub queue, or published.. If it has been, feel free to delete this.. submitting for Halloween story..

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/234742/20181001/spooky-skull-shaped-dead-comet-to-zip-past-earth-this-halloween.htm [techtimes.com]

A comet that, in certain lights, resembles a human skull will zip right past Earth just in time for Halloween.

Scientists have been observing the space rock [techtimes.com] from the Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii. It is expected to safely flyby Earth on Nov. 11.

The comet was first discovered back in October 2015 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System or Pan-STARRS-1, part of Near-Earth Object Observations Program funded by NASA. The space rock called Asteroid 2015 TB145 is more likely a dead comet, which has already shed its volatiles after repeated close encounters with the Sun.

Scientists also found that it only reflects about six percent of light, slightly higher than a typical comet that reflects about 3 to 5 percent of light.

"That suggests it could be cometary in origin — but as there is no coma evident, the conclusion is it is a dead comet," explained [nasa.gov] Vishnu Reddy, a research scientist from the Planetary Science Institute."

Asteroid 2015 TB145 will fly by the Earth at a distance of about 25 million miles. Its first observed flyby happened on Oct. 31, 2015, prompting [nasa.gov] scientists at NASA to call it the "Great Pumpkin."

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