Tracking Evolution in the Asteroid Belt - NASA Science

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Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter lies a large concentration of asteroids, which are conglomerates of rock and ice that hold clues to the formation of our solar system. This ‘Asteroid Belt’ is the rubble left over from the construction of our solar system, and Hubble’s observations have helped shape our understanding of their interactions and compositions.

A Fragmented Asteroid

Hubble watched the slow disintegration of asteroid P/2013 R3 into 10 smaller pieces. The Hubble data revealed that the fragments are drifting away from each other at a leisurely one mile per hour — slower than the speed of a strolling human — which suggests the breakup is not the result of a collision.

NASA’s Hubble Witnesses Asteroid’s Mysterious Disintegration

P/2013 R3 on November 15, 2013.
NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (UCLA)

This video, assembled from a series of Hubble images, reveals the breakup of asteroid P/2013 R3 over a period of several months starting in late 2013. The largest fragments are up to 180 meters (200 yards) in radius, each with "tails" caused by dust lifted from their surfaces and pushed back by the pressure of sunlight. The ten pieces of the asteroid drift apart slowly and show a range of breakup times, suggesting that the disintegration cannot be explained by a collision with another asteroid. One idea for the breakup is that the asteroid was accelerated by sunlight to spin at a fast enough rate to fly apart by centrifugal force. The images were taken in visible light with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3.

Asteroid Collisions

Astronomers using Hubble witnessed the impact of two asteroids in the asteroid belt. Hubble observations showed a bizarre, X-shaped pattern of filamentary structures near the point-like core of an object with trailing streamers of dust. This complex structure suggested the small body was the product of a head-on collision between two asteroids traveling five times faster than a rifle bullet. The observation helped support the idea that the asteroid belt is slowly eroding through collisions.

Suspected Asteroid Collision Leaves Odd X-Pattern of Trailing Debris

An odd, X-shaped debris field trailing dusty streamers is likely the remnants of an asteroid collision. Scientists think that a small, fast-moving asteroid blasted into a larger and slower-moving one.
NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (UCLA)
Asteroid or Comet?

In 2013, Hubble observed an asteroid with six comet-like tails of dust radiating from it like spokes on a wheel. Unlike all other known asteroids, which appear simply as tiny points of light, this asteroid resembles a rotating lawn sprinkler. Computer models of the object suggest the tails may have formed through a series of dust-ejection events.

NASA’s Hubble Sees Asteroid Spouting Six Comet-Like Tails

Images of asteroid P/2013 P5 revealed its unique dust trails radiating in multiple directions and changing in appearance with time.
NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (UCLA)

A Binary Asteroid

Hubble also observed the first known binary asteroid that also looks like a comet. The asteroid duo orbits each other and has a tail of dust like a comet. The asteroid, called 300163 (2006 VW139), likely broke into two pieces some 5,000 years ago due to its fast rotation.

animation of a comet with a shifting tail

This time-lapse video, assembled from a set of Hubble photos, reveals two asteroids orbiting each other that have comet-like features. The asteroid pair, called 2006 VW139/288P, was observed in September 2016, just before the asteroid made its closest approach to the Sun. The photos revealed ongoing activity in the binary system. The apparent movement of the tail is a projection effect due to the relative alignment between the Sun, Earth, and 2006 VW139/288P changing between observations. The tail orientation is also affected by a change in the particle size. Initially, the tail was pointing towards the direction where comparatively large (about 1 millimeter in size) dust particles were emitted in late July. However, from Sept. 20 on, the tail began to point in the opposite direction from the Sun as the pressure of sunlight affects smaller (10 microns in size) dust particles where they are blown away from the nucleus by radiation pressure.

NASA, ESA, and J. DePasquale and Z. Levay (STScI)

Asteroid Vesta and Dwarf Planet Ceres

Hubble captured images of the two most massive objects in the Asteroid Belt, Ceres and Vesta, to help NASA better plan the Dawn spacecraft’s visit to these two worlds.

Left: mottled spheroid in colors of white, grey, and tan. Left: mottled spheroid mainly bluish-grey and white with a slight some tan areas.

Hubble made observations of Ceres and Vesta to help astronomers prepare for the NASA DAWN mission.

Vesta image: NASA; ESA; L. McFadden and J.Y. Li (University of Maryland, College Park); M. Mutchler and Z. Levay (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore); P. Thomas (Cornell University); J. Parker and E.F. Young (Southwest Research Institute); and C.T. Russell and B. Schmidt (University of California, Los Angeles);
Ceres image: NASA; ESA; J. Parker (Southwest Research Institute); P. Thomas (Cornell University); L. McFadden (University of Maryland, College Park); and M. Mutchler and Z. Levay (Space Telescope Science Institute)

Hubble’s observations of Ceres revealed bright and dark regions on the asteroid’s surface that could be topographic features, such as craters, and/or areas containing different surface material. Large impacts may have caused some of these features and potentially added new material to the landscape.

Hubble images of Vesta allowed researchers to map its southern hemisphere, a region dominated by a giant impact basin formed billions of years ago. Hubble discovered the basin and its central peak through observations made in 1997. NASA’s Dawn Mission later confirmed that the basin is actually two colossal impact craters—the 310 mile (500 km) wide Rheasilvia basin, and the older 250 mi (400 km) wide Veneneia crater. Rheasilvia’s width is 95% of the mean diameter of Vesta and about 12 miles (19 km) deep. Its central peak, which Hubble first detected in its 1997 observations, rises 12-16 miles (19-26 km) and is more than 100 miles (160 km) wide. If Earth had a crater of proportional size, it would fill the Pacific Ocean basin.

The impact broke off chunks of Vesta, propelling about one-percent of the asteroid into space. This produced more than 50 smaller asteroids that astronomers have nicknamed “vestoids,” along with many more smaller fragments in the asteroid belt and ejected into the solar system. Roughly 6 percent of all meteorites we find on Earth are likely the result of this ancient impact in deep space.

Hubble’s sharp “eye” saw features as small as about 37 miles (60 kilometers) across on Vesta. The image above shows the difference in brightness and color on the asteroid’s surface.

Hubble’s view also revealed global features stretching from the northern to the southern hemisphere. The image above shows widespread differences in brightness in the east and west, which probably reflects a difference in composition. The size of these different regions varies. Some are hundreds of miles across.

Hubble Reveals Huge Crater on the Surface of the Asteroid Vesta

Left: This Hubble image of the asteroid Vesta was taken in May 1996 when the asteroid was 110 million miles from Earth. The asymmetry of the asteroid and “nub” and the south pole is suggested a large impact event that NASA’s Dawn spacecraft later confirmed. The image was digitally restored to yield an effective scale of six miles per pixel (picture element). Center: A color-encoded elevation map of Vesta clearly shows the giant 285- mile diameter impact basin and “bull’s-eye” central peak. The map was constructed from 78 Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 pictures. Surface topography was estimated by noting irregularities along the limb and at the terminator (day/night boundary) where shadows are enhanced by the low Sun angle. Right: A 3-D computer model of Vesta synthesized from Hubble topographic data. The crater’s central peak is clearly visible near the pole. The surface texture on the model is artificial, and is not representative of the true brightness variations on the asteroid. Elevation features have not been exaggerated.

NASA, ESA, Ben Zellner (Georgia Southern University), and Peter Thomas (Cornell University)

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Five, rectangular images stacked on top of each other. Each image holds two bright-white points surrounded by blue gas with a blue tail.

Comet or Asteroid? Hubble Discovers that a Unique Object is a Binary

Hubble helped an international team of astronomers find that an unusual object in the asteroid belt is actually two asteroids orbiting each other that have comet-like features.

Light blue, fuzzy, X-shape at center left. The X has a tail of light blue material that trails off to the upper right. All on a black background.

Suspected Asteroid Collision Leaves Odd X-Pattern of Trailing Debris

Hubble imaged a mysterious X-shaped debris pattern and trailing streamers of dust that suggest a head-on collision between two asteroids.

Bright-white point of light at upper left. Streams of light blue fan out below it in several directions. The longest of these extends to the lower right corner.

Hubble Sees Asteroid Spout Six Comet-like Tails

Astronomers using Hubble identified what they can only describe as a never-before-seen “weird and freakish object” in the asteroid belt that looks like a rotating lawn sprinkler.

Black background. Five bright, blue-white dots clustered near the image center. Three are exactly at image center, one is above and to the left of center, the final one is below and to the right of center. The dots are surrounded by a blue haze.

Hubble Witnesses an Asteroid Mysteriously Disintegrating

Hubble photographed the never-before-seen breakup of an asteroid into as many as 10 smaller pieces.

Left: mottled spheroid in colors of white, grey, and tan. Left: mottled spheroid mainly bluish-grey and white with a slight some tan areas.

Hubble Images of Asteroids Help Prepare
for Spacecraft Visit

Hubble images of Vesta and Ceres, two of the most massive asteroids in the asteroid belt, help astronomers plan for NASA’s Dawn spacecraft’s tour.

Upper left: a mottled grey and white spheroid. Center: Vesta's crater is revealed in colors of red, yellow, green, blue, and white. Right: a mottled spheroid, darker than the one at left, in grey, white, and black.

Hubble Reveals Huge Crater on the Surface of the Asteroid Vesta

Astronomers have used Hubble to discover a giant impact crater on the asteroid Vesta. The crater is a link in a chain of events thought responsible for forming a distinctive class of tiny asteroids as well as some meteorites that reached Earth.

Hubble Science Highlights

Discover the breadth and depth of Hubble's exciting discoveries!

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Hubble image left to right: Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune

Studying the Planets and Moons

Hubble’s systematic observations chart the ever-changing environments of our solar system’s planets and their moons.

Three views of Pluto. Three mottled circles in colors of yellow, grey, rusty-orange, and black.

Uncovering Icy Objects in the Kuiper Belt

Hubble’s discoveries helped NASA plan the New Horizon spacecraft’s flyby of Pluto and beyond.

The Mystic Mountain is seen as a chaotic pillar of colorful gas and dust, narrowing toward the top of the image. The dust and gas is mostly yellow, brown, and orange, all jutting against a hazy purple and blue background with a few pink stars.

Exploring the Birth of Stars

Seeing ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light helps Hubble uncover the mysteries of star formation.

Hubble image of the Crab Nebula

The Death Throes of Stars

When stars die, they throw off their outer layers, creating the clouds that birth new stars.

Thirty proplyds in a 6 by 5 grid. Each one is unique. Some look like tadpoles, others like bright points in a cloudy disk.

Finding Planetary Construction Zones

Hubble’s sensitivity uncovers the seeds of planets in enormous disks of gas and dust around stars.

Artist's impression of the ten hot Jupiter exoplanets. Two rows of exoplanet illustrations. There are 5 planets of varying sizes, colors, and atmospheric features in each row.

Recognizing Worlds Beyond Our Sun

Hubble can detect and measure the basic organic components for life on planets orbiting other stars

Hubble view of an expanding halo of light around star v838 monocerotis

Seeing Light Echoes

Like ripples on a pond, pulses of light reverberate through cosmic clouds forming echoes of light.

Hubble Ultra Deep Field image

Tracing the Growth of Galaxies

Hubble’s Deep Field observations are instrumental in tracing the growth of galaxies.

Comma shaped curved cloud of gases in bright white edged with bright-pink star forming regions, and threaded with rusty-brown tendrils of dust at center and throughout the comma shaped merger. All set against the black of deep space.

Galaxy Details and Mergers

Galaxies evolve through gravitational interaction with their neighbors, creating a menagerie of forms.

Computer simulation of a supermassive black hole at the core of a galaxy. Center is a black circle. Surrounding the black circle are arcs of red, blue, orange, and white. Further out from the circle are blotches of red, blue, orange, and white representing celestial objects.

Monster Black Holes are Everywhere

Supermassive black holes lie at the heart of nearly every galaxy.

Six Hubble images in a grid of three across and two down. Each is a gamma-ray burst in a host galaxy. The images are orange-red and white with hints of yellow.

Homing in on Cosmic Explosions

Hubble helps astronomers better understand and define some of the largest explosions in the universe.

Cepheid star in Andromeda galaxy (Hubble observations)

Discovering the Runaway Universe

Our cosmos is growing, and that expansion rate is accelerating.

A field of galaxies along with the curved arcs of gravitationally lensed galaxies.

Focusing in on Gravitational Lenses

Gravitational lenses are ‘Nature’s Boost’, expanding our view deeper into space and farther back in time.

A cluster of galaxies fills the frame. A purple glow around the largest concentrations of galaxies indicates the distribution of dark matter.

Shining a Light on Dark Matter

The gravitational pull of dark matter guides the formation of everything we can see in the universe.

Top: Three views going back in time show slices of the cosmos. Bottom: A computer simulated, 3-D map of the distribution of dark matter.

Mapping the Cosmic Web

Filaments and sheets of matter create an interconnected web that forms the large-scale structure of the universe.