Aviation story #4 - Brittany Robinson

This story is less related to aviation in terms of flight, but hear me out- I think the technology is similar enough, and it reminded me of something that could be in the National Museum of the USAF! The NASA Hubble Space telescope has recently been able to capture what an asteroid looks like in the process of breaking up; something that has not ever been seen. The asteroid, marked as P/2013 R3, had been watched by some other area observers before it was brought to the attention of the Hubble observers.

Scientists believe that the asteroid appears to be breaking apart simply due to a shift in its rotation rates. It is likely that it may have collided with other asteroids, etc., which would in turn weaken its interior. It has been in this process for at least a year or so. The data reveals that, "the fragments are drifting away from each other at a leisurely 1.5 kilometers per hour — slower than the speed of a strolling human."

What's in store for the asteroid, you may wonder? Most fragments will end up plunging into the sun, but NASA thinks some could also one day become meteors. 


Source: http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1405/