It’s shaping up to be a big week for asteroids–at least so far as we earthlings are concerned. Days after a flying space rock came within 28,000 miles of our little planet, scientists are sharing images from the Hubble Telescope detailing what happens when two “modest-sized” asteroids collide at a speed of 11,000 miles an hour.
The resulting explosion, according to the scientists, is “as powerful as the detonation of a small atomic bomb.” The result from that explosion is the above image that scientists are calling “peculiar,” given that “X” shape you can see in the left side of the shot, at the beginning of the trail of debris.
The collision that created the object knows as P/2010 A2 (catchy, no?) actually occurred back at the beginning of last year. The object, meanwhile, was discovered earlier this year. The findings were published in a recent issue of Nature Magazine.
According to scientists, “modest-sized asteroids smash into each other about once a year.” Actually being able to find them via telescope is pretty difficult, however.
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