Slam! Two Asteroids Suspected in Space Collision

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Slam! Two Asteroids Suspected in Space Collision
A Hubble Space Telescope picture of a comet-like object called P/2010 A2 shows a bizarre X-pattern of filamentary structures near the point-like nucleus of the object and trailing streamers of dust. Scientists think the object is the remnant of an asteroid collision. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (UCLA))

A mysterious trail of debris spotted in space suggests two asteroids recently slammed into each other.

Though such space rock collisions are thought to be common, direct evidence of the cosmic smashups has never been seen before. New images from NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope, however, have caught the suspected collision on camera.

"This is quite different from the smooth dust envelopes of normal comets," said study leader David Jewitt of the University of California at Los Angeles. "The filaments are made of dust and gravel, presumably recently thrown out of the nucleus. Some are swept back by radiation pressure from sunlight to create straight dust streaks. Embedded in the filaments are co-moving blobs of dust that likely originated from tiny unseen parent bodies."

"If this interpretation is correct, two small and previously unknown asteroids recently collided, creating a shower of debris that is being swept back into a tail from the collision site by the pressure of sunlight," Jewitt said.

Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
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