Comet Makes a Pit Stop Near Jupiter's Asteroids - HubbleSite

The wayward object made a temporary stop near giant Jupiter.

Hubble Space Telescope observations reveal the vagabond is showing signs of transitioning from a frigid asteroid-like body to an active comet, sprouting a long tail, outgassing jets of material, and enshrouding itself in a coma of dust and gas.

As the "bouncer" of the solar system, the monster planet's gravitational tug will eventually boot the comet back onto its road trip toward our Sun.

After traveling several billion miles toward the Sun, a wayward young comet-like object orbiting among the giant planets has found a temporary parking place along the way.

The unexpected visitor belongs to a class of icy bodies found in space between Jupiter and Neptune.

Visible-light snapshots by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the vagabond object shows signs of comet activity, such as a tail, outgassing in the form of jets, and an enshrouding coma of dust and gas.

Earlier observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope gave clues to the composition of the comet-like object and the gasses driving its activity.

Japanese amateur astronomer Seiichi Yoshida tipped off the Hubble team to possible comet activity.

The hefty planet will boot the comet from the system, and it will continue its journey to the inner solar system.

The icy interloper is most likely one of the latest members of the so-called "bucket brigade" of comets to get kicked out of its frigid home in the Kuiper Belt and into the giant planet region through interactions with another Kuiper Belt object.

Seeing outgassing activity on a comet 465 million miles away from the Sun (where the intensity of sunlight is 1/25th as strong as on Earth) surprised the researchers.

Once the comet gets kicked out of Jupiter's orbit and continues its journey, it may meet up with the giant planet again.

"Short-period comets like LD2 meet their fate by being thrown into the Sun and totally disintegrating, hitting a planet, or venturing too close to Jupiter once again and getting thrown out of the solar system, which is the usual fate," Lisse said.

"Simulations show that in about 500,000 years, there's a 90% probability that this object will be ejected from the solar system and become an interstellar comet.".

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency).

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations

Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland

The NASA Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA

AURA’s Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations