Astronomy Picture of the Day
2006 May 4
Schwassmann-Wachmann 3: Fragment B
Explanation:
Periodic comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 has fallen apart before.
A cosmic souffle of ice and dust left over from the early solar
system, this comet was seen to split into several large pieces
during the close-in part of its orbit in 1995. However, this time
the comet seems to be rapidly disintegrating with over three dozen
fragments, named alphabetically, now stretching several degrees
across the sky. Since comets are relatively fragile, stresses from
heat and gravity and outgassing, for example, could be responsible
for their tendency to breakup in such a spectacular fashion. On
April 18th, the Hubble Space Telescope recorded this sharp view of
prolific Fragment B, itself trailing dozens of smaller pieces, each
with its own cometary coma and tail. The picture spans over 3,000
kilometers at the comet's April 18 distance of 32 million
kilometers from planet Earth. With its brightest fragment presently
too faint to be seen with the naked eye, comet Schwassmann-Wachmann
3 will pass closest to Earth on May 13 at a distance of about 11
million kilometers.
Credit: NASA, ESA,
H. Weaver (JHU / APL), M. Mutchler and Z. Levay (STScI)
