Shane McGlaun - Feb 26, 2021, 4:26am CST
The NASA Hubble Space Telescope has spied a comet-like object known as a Centaur that has settled near a group of captured ancient asteroids called Trojans orbiting alongside Jupiter. NASA says this is the first time a comet-like object has been spotted near the ancient Trojan population. The Centaur name classifies icy bodies in the space between Jupiter and Neptune that become active for the first time when heated as they approach the sun.
After heating, Centaurs dynamically transition into being more comet-like. Hubble captured snapshots of the icy body using visible light, showing that it has comet-like activity, including a tail, outgassing in the form of jets, and an interesting coma of dust and gas. Earlier observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope sheds light on the composition of the object and the gases that drive its activity. Hubble researchers say the aging space telescope is the only tool that could have detected active comet-like features from so far away with such detail.