Comet LINEAR Disperses
Explanation:
What's happened to the nucleus of Comet LINEAR?
The brightest
comet this year has
unexpectedly broken up
into many smaller pieces.
The break-up occurred on or about July 25 and was noted
by many astronomers around the world with particularly
pioneering work by
Mark Kidger
(
IAC).
Since then
astronomers had been
searching
in vain to find any fragments left of the
nucleus,
and watching to see how fast the remaining debris fades.
Just three days ago the
Hubble Space Telescope
was maneuvered to
photograph the region and recovered some of the
disintegrating fragments that used to compose
Comet LINEAR's nucleus.
The
above image covers only the very tip of an
elongated diffuse train of slowly dispersing gas, dust,
ice fragments, and gravel.
The largest bits remaining of the badly fractured
nucleus appear to be
less than 30 meters across.
This debris train will
not collide with the Earth and so will not cause a
meteor shower.
Interested astronomers are now theorizing why
Comet LINEAR's
nucleus disintegrated into such small pieces.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
