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Credit & Copyright: Maroun Habib (Moophz)
Explanation:
There's a "camera" comet now moving across the sky.
Just a bit too dim to see with the unaided eye,
Comet 21P / Giacobini-Zinner has developed a
long tail
that makes it a good sight for binoculars and sensitive cameras.
The movement of the
Comet
21P on the sky was captured last week in the
featured time-lapse video
compressing 90 minutes into about 2.5 seconds.
What might seem odd is that the
21P's tail is not following the comet's movement.
This is because
comet tails always point away from the Sun, and
the comet was not moving toward
the Sun during the period photographed.
Visible far in the background on the upper left is the Salt & Pepper star cluster,
M37, while the bright red
star
V440 Auriga is visible just about the frame's center.
This 2-km ball of
dust-shedding
ice
passed its nearest to the Sun and Earth only last week
and is now fading as it
crosses into southern skies.
Comet 21P should remain visible, however, and photogenic to
stabilized cameras, for another month or so.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: comet
Publications with words: comet
See also:
- APOD: 2024 June 4 Á Comet Pons Brooks Develops Opposing Tails
- APOD: 2024 April 17 Á Total Eclipse and Comets
- APOD: 2024 April 8 Á The Changing Ion Tail of Comet Pons Brooks
- Comet Pons-Brooks at Night
- APOD: 2024 March 18 Á Comet Pons Brooks Swirling Coma
- Comet 12P/Pons Brooks in Northern Spring
- Structure in the Tail of Comet 12P/Pons Brooks