NASA's Hubble Telescope captures rare comet disintegration as it bursts into pieces

As NASA has been keeping a close track of  C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) comet for a while w, on April 28, US ncy informed that its Hubble Telescope was able to capture some of its rare interstellar processes.

While taking to Instagram, NASA Hubble released a video of ‘doomed comet’ which were taken on April 20 and 23. ncy informed that video shows sharpest views yet of comet’s solid icy nucleus bursting into as many as 30 pieces. 

Take a look at it here:

READ: NASA To Laser Check Moon's Darkest Craters For Signs Of Water Before Artemis Mission

According to press te on NASA website, comet C/2019 Y4, also kwn as ATLAS, was first discovered on December 29, 2019. It was discovered by ATLAS robotic astromical survey system based in Hawaii and its fragmentation was confirmed by amateur astromer Jose de Queiroz, who was able to photograph around three pieces of comet on April 11. 

David Jewitt, professor of planetary science and astromy at UCLA, Los Angeles and leader of one of two teams that photographed doomed comet with Hubble, said, “ir appearance changes substantially between two days, so much so that it's quite difficult to connect dots”. 

He added, “I don't kw wher this is because individual pieces are flashing on and off as y reflect sunlight, acting like twinkling lights on a Christmas tree, or because different fragments appear on different days”. 

READ: NASA Posts 'feel Good' Click Of Madagascar Coast With Sapphire Water, Pink Sediment

Closest approach to Earth on May 23

As comet moved towards inner solar system and got brighter, NASA also anticipates that it might be visible to naked eye in May; however, comet is w abruptly starting to get dimmer instead of brighter. astromers speculated that icy core may be fragmenting or disintegrating.

According to NASA website, when latest Hubble observations were taken, disintegrating comet was approximately 146 million kilometres from Earth. 

READ: NASA Shares Sparkling Night View Of Earth From With Endearing Mess Amid Pandemic

Furrmore, astromers also believe that if any of disintegrated pieces survive, comet will make its closest approach to Earth on May 23 at a distance of about 116 million kilometres. Moreover, ncy also anticipates that eight days later  comet will also skirt past sun at 40 million kilometres. 

Even though comets might fully disintegrate and won’t be visible from Earth, ar leader of Hubble observing team said that whole observation was ‘really exciting’ because such events are ‘super cool’ to watch and because y do t happen very often. He furr added that most comets that fragment are too dim to see; however, such events at such scale only happens once or twice a decade. 

READ: NASA Celebrates 30 Years And 1.4 Million Observations Of Hubble With 'Cosmic Coral Reef'