Contact: Henri Boffin
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Broken Fragments of Comet SW-3

Caption: Image of the broken fragments surrounding Fragment B of Comet P73/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 observed with FORS1 on ESO's VLT in three filters (B - blue, V - green, and R - red). As the telescope was tracking the comet, the stars appear as coloured trails, indicating the order in which the comet was observed in the different filters. The main fragment B, as well as the newly split smaller fragments just underneath, are clearly visible. Five additional mini-comets are also seen in the image.

Credit: ESO

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Related news release: The comet with a broken heart