51¶¯Âþ

Fragments of the bright comet that self-destructed on July 26 have finally
reappeared. Comet LINEAR broke up as it approached the Sun
(New51¶¯Âþ, 5 August, p 5). Later
observations couldn’t find any remains of
the comet’s nucleus. But on Monday, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope
spotted several fragments in front of the comet’s dust stream. They hope keeping
track of the break-up will clarify how comets formed billions of years ago.