NASA NTRS · 19950030759
On the rate at which comets split
Abstract
We use time-resolved charge-coupled device (CCD) images to assess the frequency of splitting of comets. When blinked on a computer, the CCD images provide relatively high and uniform sensitivity to comoving companions. We find that 3 comets are split in a sample of 49, and estimate that the cometary splitting rate is S approximately 0.01 per year per comet or larger. This large rate suggests that splitting may be an important destructive process for the cometary nuclei.
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Chen, Jun, Jewitt, David. 1994-04-01. On the rate at which comets split. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19950030759
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