Hydra-Like Asteroid Spouts 6 Tails

Astronomers viewing the asteroid belt with the Hubble Telescope havd found an asteroid with six comet-like tails of dust radiating from it like spokes on a wheel.  P/2013 P5 is different from all other known asteroids. It looks kind of like a rotating lawn sprinkler.  P/2013 P5 has been ejecting dust periodically for at least five months. Astronomers believe it is possible the asteroid's rotation rate increased to the point where its surface started flying apart. They do not believe the tails are the result of an impact with another asteroid because they have not seen a large quantity of dust blasted into space all at once. read more

Read the whole article on

More from