Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Crumbling Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Approaches

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 26, 2006 is “Crumbling Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Approaches,” an image. It is credited to Credit: FORS1 , 8.2-meter VLT Kueyen , ESO. The original explanation runs about 166 words.

Crumbling Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Approaches
Credit: FORS1 , 8.2-meter VLT Kueyen , ESO Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“A crumbling comet will soon pass near the Earth. Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is brightening and may even be visible to the unaided eye when the fragmented comet zooms past Earth during the middle of next month.”

— APOD editors, April 26, 2006

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
April 26, 2006
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: FORS1 , 8.2-meter VLT Kueyen , ESO
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 166 words

All of April 2006 → · 2006 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The SunComets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: April 26 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.