Astronomers hope images of C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in April, could help us to understand what causes a comet to break apart.
"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."
Astronomers suspected this sudden turn was due to the fragmentation or disintegration of the nucleus at its core—a process confirmed when around three pieces of the comet were photographed by an amateur astronomer, Jose de Queiroz, on April 11. Images taken later in the month revealed as many as 30 separate fragments.
But while the scale of this event may have been extraordinary, fragmentation itself could actually be quite common. The researchers suggest it may even be the prevailing cause of death for the icy nuclei, which is made of primordial ice and dust and lies at the heart of the comet. The team hopes Hubble's data will help determine whether or not this is the case, improving our understanding of what causes comets like these to break up. According to astronomers, the nucleus pre-fragmentation would have been no larger than the length of two football fields.
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