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Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 – Fragment B – HST: Apr. 18, 2006

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragment B - HST: Apr. 18, 2006

About the Object

  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    From Sun, April 18, 2006: 1.17 Astronomical Units (AU) or 108 million miles (173 million kilometers); From Earth, April 18, 2006: 0.22 Astronomical Units (AU) or 20 million miles (32 million kilometers)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    These HST data are from proposal 10992: H.A. Weaver (JHU/APL), P.Lamy (Laboratoire d'Astronomie Spatiale, Marseille, France) , C. Lisse (University of Maryland), W. Reach (Caltech), and I.Toth (Hungarian Academy of Sciences).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST/ACS/WFC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    April 18, 2006
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F606W (V)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Comet
  • Release Date
    April 27, 2006
  • Science Release
    Hubble Provides Spectacular Detail of a Comet’s Breakup
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (APL/JHU), M. Mutchler and Z. Levay (STScI)

Downloads

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Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

Hubble Provides Spectacular Detail of a Comet's Breakup

Hubble Provides Spectacular Detail of a Comet's Breakup

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is providing astronomers with extraordinary views of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, which is falling apart right before our eyes. Recent Hubble images have uncovered many more fragments than have been reported by ground-based observers. These...

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragment G - HST: Apr. 18, 2006

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragment G - HST: Apr. 18, 2006

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragments B, G, R, N - Ground-Based: Apr. 8, 2006

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragments B, G, R, N - Ground-Based: Apr. 8, 2006

Ground-based view of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 fragments B and G, R, and N on April 8, 2006 made with a 10"/380mm Schmidt Camera. The image is 80 arcminutes wide.

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragment B: Apr. 18, 2006

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragment B: Apr. 18, 2006

Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys image of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 fragment B on April 18, 2006.

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragment B: Apr. 19, 2006

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragment B: Apr. 19, 2006

Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys image of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 fragment B on April 19, 2006.

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragment B: Apr. 20, 2006

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragment B: Apr. 20, 2006

Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys image of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 fragment B on April 20, 2006.

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragments B, G

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 - Fragments B, G

Ground-based color composite image of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 fragments B and G on April 21, 2006 made with a 8" f/1.5 Schmidt Camera.

Zoom into Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3

Zoom into Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3

Zoom from a ground-based view of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3's fragments B, G and R to a close-up of fragment B. Observations taken April 18 to 20, 2006, with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys reveal that the fragment is continuing to break into smaller chunks. Several...

Sequential Hubble Images of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, Fragment B

Sequential Hubble Images of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, Fragment B

Sequence of three Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys images of the disintegration of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3's fragment B. This fragment continues to break into smaller chunks, which are pushed down its tail. The smaller chunks have the lowest mass and...

Sequential Hubble Images of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, Fragment B (Annotated)

Sequential Hubble Images of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, Fragment B (Annotated)

Annotated sequence of three Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys images of the disintegration of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3's fragment B. This fragment continues to break into smaller chunks, which are pushed down its tail. The smaller chunks have the lowest...

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Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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