A comet 67 million miles from Earth broke apart as it flew toward the sun and The Liar (2014)the Hubble Space Telescope snapped some beautiful images of the cosmic destruction from its post above Earth.
The Hubble took the photos over the course of about three days in January 2016, documenting the 25 "building-size blocks" that broke off from Comet 332P, NASA said in a statement.
The fragments sent into space by the comet now form a line of debris about 3,000 miles long.
Because of the Hubble images, scientists might be able to learn more about how and why some comets -- balls of ice and dust considered leftovers from the dawn of the solar system -- break apart as they speed toward the sun in their orbits.
“We know that comets sometimes disintegrate, but we don’t know much about why or how they come apart,” David Jewitt, co-author of a study detailing the comet finding in the Astrophysical Journal Letterssaid in the statement.
“The trouble is that it happens quickly and without warning, and so we don’t have much chance to get useful data. With Hubble’s fantastic resolution, not only do we see really tiny, faint bits of the comet, but we can watch them change from day to day. And that has allowed us to make the best measurements ever obtained on such an object.”
Via GiphyScientists think that Comet 332P may have disintegrated because the sun heated up the object, forcing gas and dust jets to explode from its surface, NASA said.
Those jets started spinning up the comet, making bits of it fly off the 332P's nucleus from October to December 2015.
"In the past, astronomers thought that comets die when they are warmed by sunlight, causing their ices to simply vaporize away,” Jewitt said.
“Either nothing would be left over or there would be a dead hulk of material where an active comet used to be. But it’s starting to look like fragmentation may be more important. In Comet 332P we may be seeing a comet fragmenting itself into oblivion.”
Best Mar10 Day deals: Save on NintendoMotoGP 2025 livestream: Watch Argentina Grand Prix for freeMeta blocks former employee from promoting scathing memoir 'Careless People'Yoel Roth pushes for action on online scams amid scrutiny of Match GroupWhat is Cold Harbor in 'Severance'? Here's everything we know.Best earbud deal: Get Apple AirPods Pro 2 for 32% off at Amazon todayICC Champions Trophy 2025 livestream: How to watch ICC Champions Trophy for freeNYT mini crossword answers for March 10, 2025Elon Musk claims X crashed because of a massive cyberattack'The White Lotus' Season 3 finally reveals why Rick's in ThailandElon Musk claims X crashed because of a massive cyberattackEngland vs. Italy 2025 livestream: Watch Six Nations for freeNYT Strands hints, answers for March 12What is Cold Harbor in 'Severance'? Here's everything we know.NYT Strands hints, answers for March 10Wordle today: The answer and hints for March 11, 2025EV sales up 30 percent this year despite Tesla woesYoel Roth pushes for action on online scams amid scrutiny of Match GroupWordle today: The answer and hints for March 10, 2025Best Mar10 Day deals: Save on Nintendo 2016 Emmy Winners: Full List 'Game of Thrones' wins Emmy for Drama Series because of course it did 'British Colonial Co.' restaurant accused of racism responds online Leslie Jones had more fun than anyone else at the Emmys Google's new Trips app will be your offline traveling companion Many New Yorkers remain pretty chill about the NYC explosion Pride of Australia Ben Mendelsohn beats out GoT actors to win an Emmy Emmys 2016: Hillary Clinton is Kate McKinnon's #1 fan The 'Stranger Things' kids had the BEST TIME EVER at the Emmys Jon Snow is funny, everyone Emergency alert sent to all New York phones after Chelsea bombing Emmys 2016: Jeb Bush delivers a Trump dig Huawei nova and nova plus: Mid Mom trying to get out of a baby photo gets a hilarious Photoshop battle Britney Spears dances like no one on Instagram is watching GoPro finally shows off its foldable Karma drone, and it's super sleek Woman shares face Extremely chill celebrity Kristen Bell ate pizza at the Emmys Samsung kicks off its Note7 recall program in the UK Why an Emmy for ‘Master of None’ feels like a personal victory for millions
2.1721s , 10107.46875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【The Liar (2014)】,Steady Information Network