Astronomy Picture of the Day 8-02-02

NASA ^ | 8-02-02 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

[petuniasevan]

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.

2002 August 2

Comet 57P Falls to Pieces
Credit: Y. Fernández, 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.

[petuniasevan]

Astronomy Fun Fact:

Comets seem to be somewhat loose conglomerations of rock and ice. "Dirty snowballs" is a good description. Solar radiation absorption varies over the comet's surface (darker rock absorbs more than lighter ice) may cause uneven heating at a rapid pace, which may cause such fragmentation as we see in today's APOD. Another way to break up a comet is to let the Sun or Jupiter's tidal effects do the trick (remember comet Shoemaker-Levy 9?)

Get on the APOD PING list!

[petuniasevan]

APOD PING!

[petuniasevan]

Yes! This bit of cosmic highway road slush has been STRUNG OUT! Even it doesn't know how many it is! New name: 57P Comet TOAST-petuniasevan!

[sleavelessinseattle]

Why should astronomers be prohibited from ad hoc linguistic conjunction in English when the Germans have been doing it since Schwarzvald? Minnesotans I believe first coined the term Snirt...A combination of SNOW plus DIRT...In space...I'm not sure we can go with dirt. How about
rubbish...Snubbish? Rubice? Dihydrogen Oxrocks! The possibilities are as fecund as Rich Halls Sniglets...
Only cooler because...all together, now....its in SPACE!!!!

[petuniasevan]

Good conjuctions! Must be all that java, huh?

dirtcicles?

frostrubble?

methanipetrifaction?

I need some sleep.

[MeekOneGOP]

bumpers !

[glock rocks]

Oxrocks ?

[sleavelessinseattle]

Need Sleep...I need that tatooed on my forehead!
So if the Space Telescope gets put on comet watch and there's a malfunction you'll see an Astronomy post from the World Globe entitled.
Hubble Frostrubble trip in Trouble! Web hubbel shaves his stubble!

[sleavelessinseattle]

Every time I see your handle I remember I've sold all three of mine, and I get all misty! I'm just glad noone on this forum goes by Armalite AR-10 or I'd have to have someone else open threads and scan for that persons posts so I wouldn't fall on the floor in a heap! LOL...MY SAFE WILL BULGE AGAIN!!! ARRGH!