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Active Asteroid P/2013 P5 (Artist’s Schematic)
This is a diagram of the structure seen around an active asteroid designated P/2013 P5. The Hubble Space Telescope photographed six finger-like dust tails in September 2013. One interpretation is that the asteroid's rotation rate has been increased to the point where dust is falling off the surface along the equator and escaping into space. The pressure of sunlight then sweeps the dust into long tails.
- Release DateNovember 7, 2013
- Science ReleaseNASA’s Hubble Sees Asteroid Spout Six Comet-like Tails
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Active Asteroid P/2013 P5
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope set of images reveals a never-before-seen set of six comet-like tails radiating from a body in the asteroid belt, designated P/2013 P5. The asteroid was discovered as an unusually fuzzy-looking object with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid...
Compass and Scale Images for P/2013 P5
The Hubble Space Telescope photographed six finger-like dust tails in September 2013 of active asteroid P/2013 P5. One interpretation for the structure is that the asteroid's rotation rate has been increased to the point where dust is falling off the surface along the equator...
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Last Updated
Aug 17, 2025
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Media
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
