HUBBLE ATLAS
Close-up of Fragments From Comet Hyakutake — image from the Hubble Space Telescope

Solar System

Close-up of Fragments From Comet Hyakutake

March 27, 1996 · NASA

Zoom to full resolution Original on NASA ↗

This image shows pieces of the nucleus that apparently broke off and were first detected during ground-based observations on March 24. The Hubble image shows at least three separate objects that are probably made up of coarse-grained dust. Large fragments of the nucleus would not be accelerated into the tail, which appears to be the case in this image.