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Compass and Scale Images for P/2013 P5

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 and escaping into space. The pressure of sunlight then sweeps the dust into long tails.

About the Object

  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    At the time of the Hubble observations in September 2013, P/2013 P5 was 1.1 astronomical units (112 million miles) from Earth and 2.1 astronomical units (195 million miles) from the Sun.

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    The image was created from Hubble data from proposal 13475: D. Jewitt (University of California, Los Angeles), J. Agarwal (Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research), H. Weaver (JHU/APL), M. Mutchler (STScI), and S. Larson (University of Arizona).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>WFC3/UVIS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    September 10, 2013, and September 23, 2013
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F350LP (long pass)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    P/2013 P5
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Active Asteroid
  • Release Date
    November 7, 2013
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Hubble Sees Asteroid Spout Six Comet-like Tails
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI/AURA)

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Compass and Scale Images for P/2013 P5
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image was originally black and white and recorded only overall brightness. These brightness values were translated into a range of bluish hues. Such color "maps" can be useful in helping to distinguish subtly varying brightness in an image.

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov