When you imagine an asteroid cruising through the solar system you probably think of it as a static object, not doing much beyond speeding along in a straight line and eventually running into something. The reality can be much different and, as a new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows, asteroids sometimes have self-destructive habits.
The snapshot shows the asteroid known as 6478 Gault, which is caught in a permanent spin cycle. In fact, the space rock is rotating so rapidly that it’s actually shedding its own material as it speeds through space, slowly disintegrating and leaving a trail of debris in its wake.
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NASA’s Hubble spotted an asteroid spinning so fast it’s self-destructing originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 28 Mar 2019 at 23:19:27 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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