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Comets have been observed to emit X-rays yet I don’t know if one has ever been seen to produce its own light. At any rate, a 22% decrease in apparent brightness is much larger than I would expect yet remember there is much we don't know about natural phenomena in our own solar system and not just comets.
About all that can be seen of it is a slight apparent brightening of the Sun's surface due to the glowing gasses in the comet.
If a comet can be expected to produce enough brightness to more than outweigh any dimming due to its dust
Yes, that’s correct. I think my mistake was the byproduct of the old dirty snowball theory. *Sigh, I feel like a victim now.
originally posted by: Ross 54
A Comet's gasses are ionized (electrically charged) when it's near the Sun. This causes them to glow.
That’s probably because we have never seen one before. Anything we might claim to “know” comes from science fiction.
originally posted by: Eilasvaleleyn
a reply to: Devino
And there is also much we don't know about extraterrestrial megastructures in our universe.
I think this is because it’s something we have seen before. We know it does happen yet maybe not to this scale. This is also a good scientific approach in my opinion. Compare odd results with what we know before fictitious speculation.
I really don't see why the "mundane" explanation should immediately carry more weight.