APOD: 2023 September 3 Б Comet Schwassmann Wachmann 3 Fragments
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.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
