Hubble Images Asteroid Strike
Comments(7)
Image: NASA/ESA/D.Jewitt, the incomparable Hubble, STScl 2010 07
This is incredible, and just released yesterday. Tom and I got the release yesterday morning, but waited until NASA could get the image up. NASA/ESA had it ready last night. They are so awesome.
Scientist believe that Hubble captured something long suspected, but never seen: An asteroid collision in the Asteroid Belt. Asteroid collisions are what NASA calls “energetic” (I just bet they are), and believe they collide at about 11,000 mph, or about 5 times the speed of a rifle bullet. Hubble imaged this January 25th and 29th with the new Wide Field Camera 3. It was about 90 million miles from the Earth. That’s fairly close for Hubble, but it can image objects as small as the size of a house at that distance.
There’s plenty of evidence for ancient collisions, but we’ve never been able to catch one in modern times. Scientists have identified the remains of the collision that resulted in an Earth asteroid strike 65 million years ago. We all know the end story of that little adventure.
NASA has the whole story here, and it’s worth a read.
Looks like UFO, but I’d like to believe its the product of the collision of two asteroids. It’s amazing to know how beautiful the movements up there in the sky! Fantastic!
Looks like the result of a major accident with a bystander, to me, but then I have an interesting professional history! I can see the ‘UFO’ now that you say something about it (that’s the ‘bystander’ I saw). I’m excited about the images, and like you I find them to be very beautiful.
Saw this on CNN. Almost came out of my cave and posted in my blog just to beat you to the punch.
Rob – email me a link to your blog so I can stalk you!
[...] Astronomy Blog has more information. Full story from NASA. Asteroid collisions are energetic, with an average impact speed of more [...]
Wouldn’t it be a treat if we could somehow tease a meteor shower out of this in the near future?
Linas Lipcius – Oh wow, wouldn’t it? I would think it would be responsible for an unbelievable display. I have nothing in my experience with which to compare such an event.