Comet pieces cracked

washington depot - A comet's last weekend cracked in at least two large pieces. Scientists were able to follow them through their telescopes. They continue to follow the comet 73P / Schwassmann-Wachmann time being, to see what happens with it.

The debris in the coming weeks will the comet closer to the sun. On March 16, the distance the smallest. ' The gravity of the sun puts tremendous stress on the nucleus of the comet. He probably now stands disintegrated in half, '' said astronomer Paul Cox.

If the comet survives the journey through the sun, he will then deflect and fly to the outside of our solar system. In 2025, awaits the next challenge: Jupiter, the largest planet of our solar system. Which gobbles regularly comets. ' It is faring a matter of time for 73P and disintegrates into dust, '' Cox said.

In 1995 and 2006, also the comet lost large pieces when he came close to the sun.