The object known as P/2010 A looks rather obscure. It has a comet-like tail and does not have the spectral signature of normal asteroids. But comets do not usually reside in the asteroid belt
A strange comet-like object discovered on January 6, 2010 may actually be the product of a collision between two asteroids. The LINEAR (Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid) survey scanning the sky from observatories in New Mexico tracked this object in the asteroid belt.
The object known as P/2010 A looks rather obscure. It has a comet-like tail and does not have the spectral signature of normal asteroids.
However, comets do not usually reside in the asteroid belt, and the orbit of the object is wrong - if it were a comet. While the asteroid belt is made up of remnants left over from the formation of the solar system, and like other primordial collisions between large rocks, astronomers have not directly witnessed it.
Hybrids between comets and asteroids have been observed in the past, for example the comet P/1996 N2 that was discovered in 1996, but the astronomers are examining the new object because they believe that the best explanation is that the collision between two asteroids in deep space, about 400 million kilometers from Earth. If they are right, it would be the first confirmation of a high-speed collision between two massive space rocks.
The Sky and Telescope website reports that the comet experts hope to observe the object also using the Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes. None of the scientific institutes of these space telescopes have given the green light, but the astronomers estimate that they will receive permission to make the observations in the coming days.
