Gas and Snow Jets from Comet Hartley 2
Explanation:
Unusual jets have been discovered emanating from Comet Hartley 2.
The
EPOXI spacecraft
imaged the jets in unprecedented detail during its
flyby
of the comet earlier this month.
Pictured above, sun-illuminated jets shoot away from the two-kilometer long
decaying iceberg that orbits the Sun between Earth and Jupiter.
Comet Hartley 2
became active recently as it neared the Sun and sunlight warmed the comet.
Preliminary analyses
of images like that shown above indicate that the smooth regions around the middle
are porous and
leak frozen water vapor
directly out into space.
Unexpectedly, however, the rough regions at either end appear to shoot
carbon dioxide
jets that expel fluffy
snowballs, some as large as basketballs, from the nucleus.
Many of the dots in the above image are thought to be snowballs.
The
unusual jets will continue
to be studied, and may yield further clues as to how
comets and
asteroids
formed and evolved during the
early years of our Solar System.
Comet Hartley 2 is slowly evaporating and may completely
break up over the next 1,000 years.
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.
