NASA has never seen a comet here before

[Mike Wehner]

• Our solar system is full of objects much smaller than planets and moons, and sometimes they show up in the strangest places.
• NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has spotted what appears to be a comet hanging out near the group of asteroids corralled by Jupiter.
• A comet has never been spotted in this location before, and scientists are running simulations to figure out where it originated.

The Hubble Space Telescope, which is operated by NASA and the European Space Agency, has spent much of its life peering deep into space in search of new discoveries. It's really, really good at that, but it's also just as adept at revealing secrets that lie much closer to home. Recently, researchers using Hubble observations were able to detect what appears to be a comet hanging out in an area of our solar system where comets aren't typically spotted.

In a new paper published in The Astronomical Journal, scientists reveal the presence of the comet near a band of asteroids that Jupiter corralled long ago. The asteroids are known as Trojans, and they orbit the Sun but are also controlled by the gravitational power of Jupiter. Now, a comet has joined the group.

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NASA has never seen a comet here before originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 28 Feb 2021 at 15:04:19 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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