Schwassmann-Wachmann彗星3碎片
(原标题: Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Fragments)
2023-09-03
浏览次数: 13
周期彗星73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3至少分裂了两次。这颗彗星是早期太阳系遗留下来的由冰和尘埃组成的宇宙蛋奶酥。1995年，人们第一次看到它在接近轨道时分裂成几大块。然而，在2006年的穿越中，它分裂成几十个碎片，在天空中延伸了几度。由于彗星是相对脆弱的，例如，来自热量、重力和气体释放的压力，可能是它们在靠近炎热的太阳时以如此壮观的方式分裂的原因。2006年，哈勃太空望远镜记录下了多产的碎片B的清晰影像，它本身拖着许多较小的碎片，每个碎片都有自己的彗星彗发和彗尾。这张照片跨越了3000多公里，距离地球3200万公里。
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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.