An Artist's Conception of a Complete Disintegration of An Asteroid as a Result of Repeated Close Enc (IMAGE)
Caption
The actual mechanism causing asteroids to disrupt is still unknown but some obvious scenarios such as tidal forces caused by the Sun and direct sublimation of silicates have been ruled out. One of the remaining scenarios is that volatiles inside the asteroid sublimate at moderate temperatures and create enough pressure to blow up the body. A similar process on a smaller scale called spalling can also break up surface rocks.
Credit
Lauri Voutilainen
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