As many readers already know, Comet Elenin has begun the irreversible process of breaking up. Such a breakup of small comets passing near the Sun is not rare, and in that is nothing surprising. All the pieces continue to move on the comet's trajectory. The large fragments are likely to continue to disintegrate into smaller ones. It is possible that in October when the comet moves into the morning sky, we will no longer be able to see what once was Comet Elenin. It is possible that something will be visible to large earth-based telescopes. The breakup of a long-period comet fairly close to the Earth (on a Solar System scale) is a rather rare event. During such a breakup we can see the interior of the comet to better understand its construction and composition
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