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Credit: Michael Jдger &
Gerald Rhemann
Explanation:
A newly discovered comet has brightened enough to be visible this week with binoculars.
The picturesque comet
is already becoming a favored target for northern sky imagers.
Pictured above
just last week, Comet SWAN showed a bright blue-green coma and an impressive tail.
Comet C/2006 M4 (SWAN)
was discovered in June in public images from the
Solar Wind Anisotropies
(SWAN) instrument of NASA and
ESA's Sun-orbiting
SOHO spacecraft.
Comet SWAN, near magnitude six,
will be
visible with binoculars in the northeastern sky not far from the Big Dipper
over the next few days before dawn.
The comet is expected to reach its peak brightness this week.
Passing its closest to the Sun two days ago,
Comet SWAN and will be at its closest to the Earth toward the end of this month.
Comet SWAN's unusual orbit appears to be
hyperbolic,
meaning that it will likely go off into
interstellar space, never to return.
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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: