Figure 15-37: R I V U X G
The Fragmentation of Comets (a) Comet LINEAR was discovered by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project in 1999. As it passed the perihelion of its orbit in July 2000, Comet LINEAR broke into more than a dozen small fragments. These continue to orbit the Sun along the same trajectory that the comet followed prior to its breakup. This image was made using the Very Large Telescope (see Figure 6-18). (b) This comet, with a 5.4-year orbit, has been coming apart for decades. In 2006, it further fragmented after passing perihelion. One piece, Fragment B, shed at least 30 smaller pieces, shown here.
The Fragmentation of Comets (a) Comet LINEAR was discovered by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project in 1999. As it passed the perihelion of its orbit in July 2000, Comet LINEAR broke into more than a dozen small fragments. These continue to orbit the Sun along the same trajectory that the comet followed prior to its breakup. This image was made using the Very Large Telescope (see Figure 6-18). (b) This comet, with a 5.4-year orbit, has been coming apart for decades. In 2006, it further fragmented after passing perihelion. One piece, Fragment B, shed at least 30 smaller pieces, shown here.
(a: European Southern Observatory; b: NASA; ESA; H. Weaver [APL/JHU]; M. Mutchler and Z. Levay [STScI])