We read about comet ATLAS previously. It was a bright comet that was breaking up as it approached Earth.

Recently, the Hubble Space Telescope captured images of it breaking up into more than 30 pieces. They were taken on 20 April and 23 April 2020.

• Scientists are excited by the event as such events happen only once or twice in a decade (10 years). Most fragments (pieces) of comets are too dim to see.
• This fragmentation (breaking-up) of ATLAS also shows that comet fragmentation is actually fairly common. But since it often happens quickly and without any pattern, astronomers still remain unsure about the case.
• Hubble took the images of the fragmenting comet when it was around 146 million kilometres from Earth. If any of it survives, the comet will make its closest approach to Earth on 23 May at a distance of about 116 million km.

Scientists will further study the images captured by Hubble to understand the cause of the fragmentation.

When was Comet ATLAS discovered?

Comet ATLAS was discovered on 29 December 2019, by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) robotic astronomical survey system based in Hawaii. The comet brightened quickly until mid-March, but then it started getting dimmer.

See it below

Like exploding aerial fireworks shells, comet ATLAS is breaking apart into more than 30 pieces, each roughly the size of a house. Hubble captured detailed images of the breakup last week: https://t.co/PYcgDD64hA pic.twitter.com/hV2n2OrVnY

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) April 28, 2020

 

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