Asteroid (248370) 2005 QN173 became active

The asteroid (248370) 2005 QN173, located in the main asteroid belt with an orbital period of 5.37 years, has a comet-like appearance. The tail appeared around July 7, 2021, and was discovered in images from the ATLAS automated system. The tail is due to a collision or disintegration caused by its rapid rotation. Following this event, the asteroid is periodically observed from the Berthelot Astronomical Observatory of the Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy. We present an image from August 8, showing the short tail of the asteroid (credit: A. Sonka).

Published on: Aug 10, 2021