A surprising phenomenon has just been discovered on asteroid 2005 QN137, which is the eighth asteroid in the main belt of the Asteroid Belt of the Solar System.
According to Sci-News, the unusual phenomenon was recorded by NASA’s ATLAS survey telescope, a tool specifically designed to monitor asteroids for Earth defense purposes. The research team, led by Dr. Henry Hsieh from the Planetary Science Institute, concluded that the asteroid’s abnormal activity is due to the sublimation of icy material.
Images showing asteroid 2005 QN137 behaving like a comet – (Photo: ATLAS)
This means that what has long been referred to as an ”asteroid” has created its own coma, or ”comet head”, and also has a dust tail just like a comet.
“It fits the physical definitions of a comet in that it is icy and is ejecting dust into space, even though it has the orbit of an asteroid. This dual nature and the blurring of the boundaries between asteroids and comets make this object intriguing,” the authors explain.
The tail of 2005 QN137 is very narrow, indicating that material is escaping from the main body very slowly, much weaker than typical comets. Scientists have not yet identified what is causing this ”metamorphosis” and the release of material.
According to a paper published in the scientific journal Astrophysical Journal Letters, this peculiar object should be recognized as both a comet and an asteroid. Previously, about 20 objects were suspected of undergoing such unusual transformations, but 2005 QN137 is the first asteroid-comet to be clearly analyzed.
