What Happened
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space?
Why It Matters
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Key Details
- Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, Dennis Bodewits (AU); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) In a happy twist of fate, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope just witnessed a comet in the act of breaking apart.
- The chance of that happening while Hubble watched is extraordinarily minuscule.
- The findings published Wednesday in the journal Icarus.
- The comet K1, whose full name is C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)—not to be confused with interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS—was not the original target of the Hubble study. “Sometimes the best science happens by accident,” said co-investigator John Noonan, a research professor in the Department of Physics at Auburn University in Alabama.
Background Context
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Universe Uncovered Hubble’s Partners in Science Hubble & Citizen Science AI & Hubble Science Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Science Operations Astronaut Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Ast
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Source: NASA – Original Link
Source: NASA