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Credit & Copyright: Y. FernÀndez,
S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt
(University of Hawai`i)
Explanation:
Comet 57P
has fallen to pieces, at least 19 of them.
Orbiting the Sun every 5.9 years or so
this
faint comet - also
christened Comet 57P/du Toit-Neujmin-Delporte for its three
1941 co-discoverers - is simply 57th on the
list of comets known to be periodic,
beginning with
Comet 1P/Halley.
In mid July, responding
to
reports of a new object possibly associated
with Comet 57P,
astronomers were able to
construct this mosaic of deep sky images identifying a surprising
19 fragments (circled)
strung out behind the
cometary coma and nucleus itelf (far left).
The full mosaic spans about a million kilometers at the
distance of the comet,
while the individual pieces detected are probably a few tens to
a few hundred meters across.
Stress produced as sunlight warmed the icy, rocky nucleus
likely contributed to the
fragmentation.
In fact, when last seen passing through the inner solar system in
1996, Comet 57P brightened unexpectedly, indicating a sudden increase
in surface activity.
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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 December 16 Á A Kilometer High Cliff on Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko
- APOD: 2024 November 27 Á The Meteor and the Comet
- APOD: 2024 November 11 Á The Unusual Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan Atlas
- APOD: 2024 November 6 Á Comet Tsuchinshan Atlas over the Dolomites
- APOD: 2024 October 21 Á Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS over California
- Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS Flys Away
- Most of Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS