INBOX ASTRONOMY
NASA's Hubble Detects First-Ever Spin Reversal of Tiny Comet
Release date: Thursday, March 26, 2026 10:00:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Outgassing jets slowed the comet’s spin and restarted it in the opposite direction
To skywatchers, comets often appear as soft, glowing smudges drifting across the night sky – cosmic cotton balls with faint tails. But behind that fuzzy appearance are surprisingly active worlds. Scientists studying the comet 41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresak with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence that jets of gas erupting from its surface may have slowed the comet’s spin to a stop and then restarted it in the opposite direction.
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