Credit & Copyright: José J. Chambó
Explanation:
A new
year's treat for binoculars, as 2016 begins
Comet Catalina
(C/2013 US10) now sweeps through planet Earth's predawn skies
near bright Arcturus, alpha star of Bootes.
But this telescopic
mosaic
from December 21 follows the
pretty tails of the comet across a field of view as wide as
10 full moons.
The smattering of distant galaxies
and faint stars in the
background are in the constellation Virgo.
Trailing behind the comet's orbit, Catalina's dust tail fans
out below and left in the frame.
Its ion tail is angled toward the top right, away from the Sun
and buffeted by the solar wind.
On January 17, the outward bound visitor from the
Oort Cloud
will make its closest approach to Earth, a mere 110 million kilometers away,
seen near bright stars along the handle of the Big Dipper.
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 2025 |
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.
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