Puzzling Near-Earth Asteroid Turns Out to Be Comet with Weak Tail

This artist’s concept depicts a near-Earth asteroid with an elongated orbit; a few objects such as these can exhibit significant perturbations in their motion around the Sun and, like 1998 SH2, could turn out to be regular comets with a weak tail and coma. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

The near-Earth object (875163) 1998 SH2, which is currently classified as an asteroid, has revealed a hidden identity: it’s actually a comet in disguise, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

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Source: Sci.News: Breaking Science News

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