Hubble Sees Asteroid Collision in Slow-Motion

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The collision between two asteroids in early 2009 produced a strange, X-shaped aftermath. Image Credit: NASA, ESA and D. Jewitt (UCLA)

Alas, the image above is not marking alien pirate treasure in [space][3] – for the first time, the aftermath of a collision between two [asteroids][4] has been imaged. Last January, an international team of [astronomers][5] saw the [strange X-shaped object with the Hubble Space Telescope ][6] after ground-based observatories spotted evidence of an [asteroid][4] collision in [the asteroid belt][7]. The team has now used Hubble to do follow-up observations and uncovered a few surprises about the collision.

The collision produced an X shape, followed by a long [comet][8]-like tail. The astronomers, led by David Jewitt of the University of California in Los Angeles, were surprised to find that the collision did not happen as recently as they’d thought, but had actually occurred almost a year previous to the detection. It’s likely that the two asteroids smashed together sometime in February or March of 2009. (…) Read the rest of [Hubble Sees Asteroid Collision in Slow-Motion][9] (420 words)

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