Mini-Comets Approaching Earth
Mini-Comets Approaching Earth
03.24.2006
A cometary "string-of-pearls" will fly past Earth in May closer than any comet has come in almost 80 years.
March 24, 2006: In 1995, Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 did something unexpected: it fell apart. For no apparent reason, the comet's nucleus split into at least three "mini-comets" flying single file through space. Astronomers watched with interest, but the view was blurry even through large telescopes. "73P" was a hundred and fifty million miles away.