SPACEWATCH® Observes Main-Belt Comet C/2010 A2 (LINEAR)

2010 Jan 8 - SPACEWATCH® observes main-belt Comet C2010 A2 (LINEAR), and finds it remarkably free of a central condensation. The object may be a comet that has had an outburst, or it could be a rare instance of an asteroid that has undergone an impact recently, with impact debris and dust still traveling along with it and forming a tail in its path. Stacked and shifted exposures were made as a composite by J. V. Scotti at the SPACEWATCH® 1.8-m telescope on 2010 Jan 8, and show the cometary aspect as well as the puzzling lack of nucleus.