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Explanation: Periodic comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 has broken up at least twice. A cosmic souffle of ice and dust left over from the early solar system, this comet was first seen to split into several large pieces during the close-in part of its orbit in 1995. However, in the 2006 passage, it disintegrated into dozens of fragments that stretched several degrees across the sky. Since comets are relatively fragile, stresses from heat, gravity and outgassing, for example, could be responsible for their tendency to break up in such a spectacular fashion when they near the hot Sun. The Hubble Space Telescope recorded, in 2006, the featured sharp view of prolific Fragment B, itself trailing a multitude of smaller pieces, each with its own cometary coma and tail. The picture spans over 3,000 kilometers at the comet's distance of 32 million kilometers from planet Earth.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: comet
Publications with words: comet
See also:
- APOD: 2024 June 4 Á Comet Pons Brooks Develops Opposing Tails
- APOD: 2024 April 17 Á Total Eclipse and Comets
- APOD: 2024 April 8 Á The Changing Ion Tail of Comet Pons Brooks
- Comet Pons-Brooks at Night
- APOD: 2024 March 18 Á Comet Pons Brooks Swirling Coma
- Comet 12P/Pons Brooks in Northern Spring
- Structure in the Tail of Comet 12P/Pons Brooks