Cometary splitting due to thermal stresses

We consider the thermal evolution of icy solids moving on the highly eccentric orbits on the base of the numerical solution of the non-linear heat diffusion equation. l stresses which arise inside of solids and at their surface can exceed the tidal stresses by several orders of magnitude in the neighborhood of the Sun and play an important and, perhaps, a crucial role in the evolution of comets. ible disintegration scenario of a distant icy solid due to thermal stresses is presented.