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P/2016 G1 (PanSTARRS) was a main-belt asteroid that was destroyed by an impact event on 6 March 2016.[1] It was discovered by Robert Weryk and Richard Wainscoat of the Pan-STARRS 1 survey at Haleakala Observatory. The object was initially thought to be an Encke-type comet because of its diffuse appearance,[2][3] so it received the periodic comet designation P/2016 G1.[4] After further analysis, what had initially appeared to be a comet's halo turned out to be rubble from a collision. By November 2019, analysis suggested the collision had occurred on 6 March 2016, and the asteroid was struck by a smaller object that may have massed only 1 kilogram (2.2 lb), and was traveling at 11,000 miles per hour (18,000 km/h).[5] P/2016 G1's diameter was between 200 metres (660 ft) and 400 metres (1,300 ft).[6] The asteroid had completely disintegrated by 2017.[6]
Astronomers were able to use the asteroid's rubble to determine the date of the collision, since the dispersion of dust was inversely proportional to its size.[6]
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