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   TZUTC: -0700   
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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                 2023 September 3   
       A fuzzy comet is shown in gray on the upper left against a dark space   
       background. The comet's tail extends diagnonally to the lower right.   
      The main part of the comet is seen broken up into many trailing pieces.   
             Please see the explanation for more detailed information.   
      
                      Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Fragments   
        Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (JHU / APL), M. Mutchler and Z. Levay   
                                      (STScI)   
      
      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.   
      
                          Tomorrow's picture: star bursts   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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