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Credit: HST Comet Hyakutake
Observing Team and
NASA
MPEG Movie of the Comet's Position in April (2.8 MB)
Explanation:
During April Comet Hyakutake
heads in toward
the Sun
after passing the
Earth.
At this time
the comet's orbit places it north of the
Earth. Remaining visible in the northern sky
as it nears the Sun, it will set progressively earlier in the evening.
Early in April,
the Moon's glow will diminish viewing
of the comet's tail - except during the
lunar eclipse on April 3rd!
As the comet recedes from the Earth it will appear dimmer even though it is
getting intrinsically brighter as it nears the Sun. In late April the
intrinsic brightening effect will "win" and the comet will again appear to
brighten - possibly getting even brighter than it was last week.
At this point the
comet will appear near sunset low on
the northwestern horizon (see above).
So far
Comet Hyakutake has exceeded most expectations in brightness and length of
tail. If you haven't been impressed by Hyakutake, you probably haven't seen
it from a dark location!
MPEG Movie of the Comet's Position in April (2.8 MB)
Latest Comet Hyakutake images:
JPL,
Fayetteville
Observer-Times,
NASA's Night of
the Comet,
ICSTARS,
Crni Vrh Obs.,
Cent. Mich U.
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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 Hyakutake
Publications with words: comet Hyakutake
See also: