73PSchwassmannWachmann

73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann is a Jupiter-family periodic comet discovered in 1930 by Arnold Schwassmann and Arno A. Wachmann at the Hamburg Observatory. The designation commemorates its discoverers and its status as a periodic comet, returning to the inner solar system on predictable intervals.

As a short-period object, it completes an orbit in roughly five years. Its path lies near the ecliptic and is modest in inclination, bringing it into the inner solar system at perihelion where solar heating drives cometary activity, producing a visible coma and tail during bright apparitions. The nucleus is relatively small by planetary standards and is composed of ice and dust, typical of comets.

73P is especially noted for fragmentation events. In 1995 the comet broke into multiple fragments, which were subsequently observed as distinct components and designated with letters such as B and C. In following apparitions, several fragments persisted and continued to shed material, creating a complex system around the original nucleus that has been a focus of observational campaigns.

The comet's repeated returns and fragmentation make it a subject of ongoing study for understanding the structural integrity and evolution of cometary nuclei. Observations across multiple perihelia have provided insights into how fragments evolve, disperse, and interact with the solar wind, contributing to broader knowledge of cometary behavior within the Jupiter-family population.