First images of split comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3

This composite of four individual exposures shows the innermost area of the extended coma of Periodic Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3. It demonstrates that its nucleus has recently split into three, probably four individual pieces.

The upper three images were obtained on December 12, 13 and 14, 1995, through a red filtre and with the ESO Multi-Mode Instrument (EMMI) attached to the 3.5-metre New Technology Telescope (NTT). They show the presence of three condensations around the split nuclei, nearly aligned in the direction towards the Sun. They lie in or very near the orbital plane of the comet.

A comparison of the images clearly shows that the distance between the two brightest condensations is slowly increasing and also that the brightness of the two fainter ones (in the middle and to the right) is variable. At the time of the observations, the comet was about 260 million kilometres from the Earth and the measured angular distance between the brightest condensations corresponds to a projected separation of about 5100 kilometres.

The image at the bottom was obtained on December 12, 1995, at a wavelength near 10 micron with the Thermal Infrared Multi-Mode Instrument (TIMMI) at the ESO 3.6-metre telescope. The leftmost condensation is much brighter than the others at this wavelength; this indicates a much larger amount of dust. It is therefore likely that this condensation represents the denser dust cloud around the largest nucleus, and that the (smaller) pieces in the other condensations broke off from this one. On this image, there is a fainter, fourth condensation about 2 arcseconds directly south of the brightest one. The other features are quite faint and may not be real.

This is eso9601b, which accompanies eso9601. This photo is available in GIF format on the World-Wide Web in a B/W (01/96-BW) as well as in a false-colour (01/96-COL) version. It may be reproduced, if credit is given to the European Southern Observatory.

Peculiar Coma Shape of Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 ESO Press Photo eso9601; 5 January 1996

Crédit:

ESO

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso9601b
Type:Observation
Date de publication:5 janvier 1996
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso9601
Taille:478 x 777 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:Schwassmann-Wachmann 3
Type:Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Comet
Catégorie:Solar System

Image Formats

Grand JPEG
197,0 Kio
JPEG taille écran
404,4 Kio

Fonds d'écran

1024x768
203,4 Kio
1280x1024
279,0 Kio
1600x1200
319,0 Kio
1920x1200
334,5 Kio
2048x1536
429,2 Kio

Couleurs & filtres

DomaineLongueur d'ondeTélescope
Visible
R
New Technology Telescope
EMMI
Infrarouge
Near-IR
10 μmESO 3.6-metre telescope
TIMMI

Notes: The top three images are from the New Technology Telescope (NTT) and the bottom is from the ESO 3.6-metre telescope.