Comet 41P (Artist’s Concept)

This artist’s concept depicts comet 41P, a tiny Jupiter-family comet, as it approached the Sun and frozen gases began to sublimate and shoot material off into space. Scientists analyzing observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope found that these jets slowed the comet’s spin and then started it rotating in the opposite direction.

Image Description: Illustration, close up of rocky, potato-shaped body of a comet with detailed, cratered surface at the bottom right. A glowing ray emanates from the rocky surface like sunlight through clouds. It extends from the comet’s surface across the image to the left. This represents water ice being vaporized by the heat of the Sun. There are small bright dots within the ray, representing fragments of the comet. The words Artist's Concept appear at the bottom left.

Release Date	March 26, 2026
Science Release	NASA’s Hubble Detects First-Ever Spin Reversal of Tiny Comet
Credit	Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)
Last UpdatedLocationContact	Mar 26, 2026NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterMediaClaire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland [email protected]
Last Updated	Mar 26, 2026
Location	NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact	MediaClaire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland [email protected]
Related Terms	Hubble Space Telescope, Comets, Small Bodies of the Solar System, The Solar System

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