Comet break-up puts on sky show The comet is breaking into fragments. (Image: European Southern Observatory) A comet is delighting astronomers with a marvellous night-time display as it makes a near pass of the Earth. The ball of ice, rock and dust has broken up into more than 60 pieces; two of the larger fragments are visible through binoculars or small telescopes. At its closest approach this weekend, the comet will be some 10 million km (six million miles) from the Earth. Continued disintegration means this may be the last swing around the Sun for Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3. Good chance...