Death of Comet ATLAS as Seen by Hubble

The images were taken on April 20 and April 23 as the fragmented Comet heads towards it's orbit of the Sun dashing hopes the Comet would be visible in our night sky.

"Their appearance changes substantially between the two days, so much so that it's quite difficult to connect the dots," said astronomer David Jewitt of the University of California, Los Angeles.

"I don't know whether this is because the individual pieces are flashing on and off as they reflect sunlight, acting like twinkling lights on a Christmas tree, or because different fragments appear on different days."

The fragmentation of C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) has quite dashed hopes that the comet would be visible to the naked eye from Earth, even in daylight. But, although it's not uncommon for comets to shatter as they near the Sun, catching one in the act in such spectacular detail is rare.

"This is really exciting - both because such events are super cool to watch and because they do not happen very often. Most comets that fragment are too dim to see," said astronomer Quanzhi Ye, of the University of Maryland.
"Events at such scale only happen once or twice a decade."
www.sciencealert.com...

Once again Hubble shows its worth in its anniversary year.

Doomsayers when seeing comet Atlas crumbling away..

a reply to: gortex

Sexiest thirty year old piece of technology in orbit.

Hubble continues to provide incredible images and data for NASA. One of the few government agencies that is totally awesome.

Animation? If they recorded it why use an animation?

a reply to: Jamie2018

Because Hubble takes pictures , the animation is the morphing between the two pictures taken by Hubble.

a reply to: gortex

How did the comet explode, don't they need an atmosphere to explode?

a reply to: Jamie2018

The answer to that question is in the link.

We think it has to do with the sublimation of cometary ices, as the comet nears and is warmed by the Sun. This outgassing produces the classic comet halo and tail. But, as those gases leave the comet, they can act as a sort of jet, propelling the comet to spin.

If this spin becomes fast enough, centripetal forces could exceed the material strength of the nucleus to the extent that the comet splits and fragments under the stress.

a reply to: gortex

sublimation of cometary ices

Oh I didn't take that into account, thanks science.

Boggles the mind to think a comet could blast through space for millions/billions of years only to die when approaching our little solar system.

What a shame we won't get to see it in the sky,but thank goodness for Hubble so we can watch on the screen.

Its actually probably a good thing we won't get the mega bright view they said was possible,as the way things are lots of nutjobs would be out howling at it and carrrying "the end is nigh" signs.

i suggested that Comet Atlas would be breaking up back at the time when the Coma (atmosphere/halo) suddenly increased by 100X when Atlas was still in the outer Solar System zone (beyond Mars)

i don't think it has become a String-of-Pearls like ShoemakerLevy was --- Yet
but it still has a chance
I think the shattered Comet debris field will, eventually, pepper the Oort Cloud and disturb the icy-rocks to fall into the Sun over the decades to come

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse
What a shame we won't get to see it in the sky,but thank goodness for Hubble so we can watch on the screen.

Its actually probably a good thing we won't get the mega bright view they said was possible,as the way things are lots of nutjobs would be out howling at it and carrrying "the end is nigh" signs.

That, or dodging man eating plants and trying to find someone who can still see ...

www.imdb.com...

The Day of the Triffids
PG | 50min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | TV Mini-Series (1981– )

"When a comet blinds nearly everyone in the world, a genetically-engineered species of plant takes over."

originally posted by: AnonyMason
Sexiest thirty year old piece of technology in orbit.

Continuing the Star Wars theme
It sees in stereo ... and you must look ... through the Keyhole.

originally posted by: gortex

Once again Hubble shows its worth in its anniversary year.

Nice; thanks for posting.

The images of the comet seem to glow with a ghostly blue light.

Just think: Hubble was shaping up to be one of the worst technological blunders in history before NASA "lensed" it. Now it's an enduring testament to human ingenuity and imagination.

Just think what would be if it weren't for the "contact lens" that had to be installed for "vision correction" .

originally posted by: Cymru

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse
What a shame we won't get to see it in the sky,but thank goodness for Hubble so we can watch on the screen.

Its actually probably a good thing we won't get the mega bright view they said was possible,as the way things are lots of nutjobs would be out howling at it and carrrying "the end is nigh" signs.

That, or dodging man eating plants and trying to find someone who can still see ...

www.imdb.com...

The Day of the Triffids
PG | 50min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | TV Mini-Series (1981– )

"When a comet blinds nearly everyone in the world, a genetically-engineered species of plant takes over."

Funny you should say that-in gortexs first thread about comet Atlas I said this:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Great minds,mate.
edit-Oh it hasn't linked to my post but if you scroll a bit you will see it-it was also about the triffids

originally posted by: LogicalGraphitti
Boggles the mind to think a comet could blast through space for millions/billions of years only to die when approaching our little solar system.

I’m pretty sure they are all from our solar system. They have been running circles around our sun for million of years and finally smash into something or burn up.

originally posted by: Snarl

originally posted by: AnonyMason
Sexiest thirty year old piece of technology in orbit.

Continuing the Star Wars theme

It sees in stereo ... and you must look ... through the Keyhole.

Asteroid Apophis (The World Breaker) 2029

a reply to: St Udio

i don't think it has become a String-of-Pearls like ShoemakerLevy was --- Yet but it still has a chance

Not really.
Shoemaker-Levy was destroyed by the tidal forces of Jupiter. That is why it formed a string of pearls.

I think the shattered Comet debris field will, eventually, pepper the Oort Cloud and disturb the icy-rocks to fall into the Sun over the decades to come

Highly unlikely. A collision would be the only chance of that happening. The gravitational influence of the fragments is zero to none.

a reply to: TexasTruth

I’m pretty sure they are all from our solar system.

Most, yes.
Not all.
www.cnet.com...