Asteroids aren’t the only things tearing through our solar system, and periodically careening into worlds. We also have comets to contend with, but when it comes to comets, our Sun and it’s light and gravity do their best to destroy these nemeses, even when we don’t want them too. Recently, we were all looking forward to seeing Comet Atlas fly past earth as an easily visible object. Before that could happen, however, it fell to pieces. But hey, it fell to pieces in style, and the Hubble Space Telescope is taking amazing images of its demise. In images that are only a few days apart, the fragments can be seen moving and varying in brightness. Team scientist David Jewitt has noted “Their appearance changes substantially between the two days, so much so that it’s quite difficult to connect the dots. I don’t know whether this is because the individual pieces are flashing on and off as they reflect sunlight, acting like twinkling lights on a Christmas tree, or because different fragments appear on different days.” While I remain disappointed that 2020 keeps taking away our comets, I am enjoying the remarkable imagery we’re getting of this one’s exquisite death.

More:

Hubble Captures Breakup of Comet ATLAS (Hubble Space Telescope)

Hubble Watches Comet ATLAS Disintegrate into Dozens of Pieces (Hubblesite)