Credit & Copyright: N. Thomas (MPI), H. Rauer
(Obs. Paris) and H. Boehnhardt (U. Munchen),
Danish 1.54m Telescope
(La Silla),
ESO
Explanation:
Comet Hale-Bopp has faded in the past few weeks. For
Hale-Bopp,
promised as the Great Comet
of 1997, this was a bit of a disappointment -- but not
entirely unexpected.
Comet Hale-Bopp
continues to approach the
Sun - making the comet itself brighten,
but now the
Earth
is moving away from it - making the comet appear to dim.
Experts disagree on just how
bright
Hale-Bopp
will become. Optimists hope it will eventually outshine
Comet Hyakutake,
but some pessimists now expect no
better than 3rd magnitude - hardly visible from
well-lit cities.
Comet Hale-Bopp
still appears to be, however, a very large comet, and
is sure to show much activity as it nears the Sun.
The comet
should reach peak brightness in March 1997. This image was taken on August 18th and shows gas shed from the nucleus of
the comet.
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 |
Yanvar' Fevral' Mart Aprel' Mai Iyun' Iyul' Avgust Sentyabr' Oktyabr' Noyabr' Dekabr' |
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami:
kometa Heila-Boppa - kometa Hiyakutake - yadro komety
Publikacii so slovami: |