An object discovered on 6 January in the Asteroid Belt appearing superficially like a comet, could turn out to be a rare collision of two asteroids.

The object, known as P/2010 A2, was discovered by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) sky survey and occupies an orbit inside the main Asteroid Belt – not the typical location of comets, which swoop close to the Sun on long elliptical orbits. P/2010 A2 shares striking similarity to a comet, however, with a long tail of debris that appears to stream from a denser nucleus.

The tail of debris could instead be the tell-tale sign of an asteroid-asteroid collision, and would be the first time that such an event has unfolded in front of our eyes. Further supporting evidence for the collision theory comes from the observation of a nearby 200 metre-wide object that is moving in the same direction and with the same speed as the 'tail', and which may represent the largest fragment of one of the colliding asteroids.

The Asteroid Belt is littered with rocky bodies that show evidence for a violent history, but it is not certain how often major collisions take place. Over time, these collisions convert small asteroids into dust.

Continued observations, perhaps even with the Hubble Space Telescope, will shed more light on the ongoing event that is playing out in this region of the Asteroid Belt.

Our latest 132-page Astronomy Now special edition is an extravaganza of astronomy for the year ahead, with a complete 30-page guide to observing the planets, moon, meteor showers, two solar eclipses, and the deep sky in 2010.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Hubble Reborn
Hubble Reborn takes the reader on a journey through the Universe with spectacular full-colour pictures of galaxies, nebulae, planets and stars as seen through Hubble's eyes, along the way telling the dramatic story of the space telescope, including interviews with key scientists and astronauts.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

3D Universe
Witness the most awesome sights of the Universe as they were meant to be seen in this 100-page extravaganza of planets, galaxies and star-scapes, all in 3D!
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

This special publication features the photography of British astro-imager Nik Szymanek and covers a range of photographic methods from basic to advanced. Beautiful pictures of the night sky can be obtained with a simple camera and tripod before tackling more difficult projects, such as guided astrophotography through the telescope and CCD imaging.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Explore the Universe with these new versions of the award-winning Starry Night Software. Available now from the Astronomy Now Store.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Astronomy Now is pleased to announce the publication of Exploring Mars. The very best images of Mars taken by orbiting spacecraft and NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers fill up the 98 glossy pages of this special edition!
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE