Unity Particle System - single playing particle on hit - unity3d

Question

OK, I have a particle which is prefabed as it appears on the left of the image below.
The left side is the result of the projectile code:
using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;
[RequireComponent(typeof(Collider2D))]
[RequireComponent(typeof(Rigidbody2D))]
[RequireComponent(typeof(SpriteRenderer))]
public class Projectile : MonoBehaviour
{
[SerializeField] float velocity;
[SerializeField] float acceleration;
new Collider2D collider;
Rigidbody2D rb;
SpriteRenderer sr;
[SerializeField] LayerMask targetLayer;
[SerializeField] float lifetime;
[SerializeField] float damage;
[SerializeField] ParticleSystem HitEffect;
public event Action<Projectile,Collider2D> OnHit;
public Color Color
{
get
{
return sr.color;
}
set
{
sr.color = value;
}
}
// Start is called before the first frame update
void Start()
{
collider = GetComponent<Collider2D>();
rb = GetComponent<Rigidbody2D>();
sr = GetComponent<SpriteRenderer>();
collider.isTrigger = false;
}
// Update is called once per frame
void Update()
{
lifetime -= Time.deltaTime;
if (lifetime <=0)
{
Destroy(this.gameObject);
}
}
public void SetTargetMask(LayerMask _mask)
{
targetLayer = _mask;
}
public void SetDamage(float amount)
{
this.damage = amount;
}
protected virtual void OnCollisionEnter2D(Collision2D other)
{
var _hitEffect = Instantiate(HitEffect.gameObject, transform).GetComponent<ParticleSystem>();
if (!_hitEffect.isPlaying) _hitEffect.Play();
rb.velocity = Vector2.zero;
collider.isTrigger = true;
sr.enabled = false;
Damageable othersDamage;
other.gameObject.TryGetComponent<Damageable>(out othersDamage);
//Debug.Log("dmg not null: " + (othersDamage != null) + "; presumed layer:" + other.gameObject.layer + "; actual layer:" + targetLayer.value);
if (othersDamage != null && other.gameObject.layer == targetLayer.value)
{
OnHit?.Invoke(this,other.collider);
othersDamage.HandleDamage(damage);
}
Destroy(this.gameObject,HitEffect.main.duration);
}
}
So, the idea is to have the particle as it appears on the left at each contact point, play, and vanish.
Instead, I have a non-animated particle that floats off after hitting the target.
What am I missing to get to play the single explosion at point, and how to get the sub particle to play properly.

Answer 1

What am I missing to get to play the single explosion at point
Either stop the rigidbody completely:
rb.angularVelocity = Vector2.zero;
rb.velocity = Vector2.zero;
Alternately, unparent the hit effect from the projectile, and destroy it after a delay
_hitEffect.transform.SetParent(null);
Destroy(_hitEffect.gameObject,afterDelay);