Credit & Copyright: Vic
Winter, Courtesy
ICSTARS
Explanation:
It was a starry night in April
(April 9th, 1996, 9:32 pm CDT to be exact)
near Lone Jack, Missouri when Comet Hyakutake graced
this astronomically rich field. Making an appearance as the
brilliant evening star, Venus
is overexposed at the far left.
Just below Venus and slightly to the right,
the Pleiades star cluster (M45) glistens.
On the right hand
side of the image, the comet itself shows
a bright blue tail extending
upwards past the nearby star cluster in
the constellation Perseus (top right, the Alpha Persei Group).
Hyakutake, receding from
the Earth and appoaching the Sun, will sink into the western horizon
at sunset in
late April,
disappearing from Northern Hemisphere skies.
Latest Comet Hyakutake images:
APOD Hyakutake Archive,
JPL,
Fayetteville
Observer-Times,
NASA's Night of
the Comet,
ICSTARS,
Jerry Lodriguss,
ScienceWeb,
Crni Vrh Obs.,
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
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