Comet 168P-Hergenrother was imaged by the
NOAO/Gemini telescope on Nov. 2, 2011 at about 6 a.m. UTC. Image credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/NOAO/Gemini
› Full view
The Hergenrother comet is currently traversing the inner-solar system.
Amateur and professional astronomers alike have been following the
icy-dirt ball over the past several weeks as it has been generating a
series of impressive outbursts of cometary-dust material. Now comes word
that the comet's nucleus has taken the next step in its relationship
with Mother Nature.
"Comet Hergenrother is splitting apart," said Rachel Stevenson, a
post-doctoral fellow working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, Calif. "Using the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's
Gemini North Telescope on top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, we have resolved
that the nucleus of the comet has separated into at least four distinct
pieces resulting in a large increase in dust material in its coma."
With more material to reflect the sun's rays, the comet's coma has brightened considerably.
"The comet fragments are considerably fainter than the nucleus," said
James Bauer, the deputy principal investigator for NASA's NEOWISE
mission, from the California Institute of Technology. "This is
suggestive of chunks of material being ejected from the surface."
The comet's fragmentation event was initially detected on Oct. 26 by a
team of astronomers from the Remanzacco Observatory, using the Faulkes
Telescope North in Haleakala, Hawaii. The initial fragment was also
imaged by the WIYN telescope group at Kitt Peak National Observatory in
Arizona.
For those interested in viewing Hergenrother, with a larger-sized
telescope and a dark sky, the comet can be seen in between the
constellations of Andromeda and Lacerta.
The orbit of comet 168P/Hergenrother comet is well understood. The comet, nor any of its fragments, are a threat to Earth.
DC Agle 818-393-9011
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
agle@jpl.nasa.gov
