This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Xezbeth (talk | contribs) at 20:14, 11 October 2006 (mergeto). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 20:14, 11 October 2006 by Xezbeth (talk | contribs) (mergeto)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | It has been suggested that this article be merged into 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann. (Discuss) |
Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, one of the comets discovered by astronomers by Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Arthur Wachmann, working at the Hamburg Observatory in Bergedorf, Germany , broke into fragments on its re-entry to the inner solar system, May 1 2006, in a reaction triggered by the sun's heating the comet as it emerged from the frozen space of the outer solar system.
The comet's initial discovery was serendipity: the astronomers were exposing photographic plates in search of a minor planet, on photographs exposed for a minor planet survey, on May 2 1930. The comet was lost after its 1930 apparition, but was observed several more times. On its 1995 pass, the nucleus split in at least three pieces.