Hubble Spots Unique Object in the Main Asteroid Belt

Hubble Spots Unique Object in the Main Asteroid Belt

“Surface ice cannot survive in the asteroid belt for the age of the Solar System but can be protected for billions of years by a refractory dust mantle, only a few meters thick... The most probable formation scenario of 288P is a breakup due to fast rotation. After that, the two fragments may have been moved further apart by sublimation torques.”