Credit: Gordon Garradd,
Loomberah NSW Australia
Explanation:
Brighter than ever
expected, comet LINEAR --
you know, the one designated
C/2001 A2 -- is a sight
to see
in southern skies.
This comet LINEAR first brightened
impressively in late March as its active nucleus began
to fragment, prompting some
speculation that the comet might soon
break up completely.
But still hanging together after its closest approach to
the Sun, C/2001 A2 suddenly brightened again and
was reported
last week to have reached nearly 3rd magnitude,
easily visible to the unaided eye.
This
delightful telescopic picture of the brighter
coma of comet LINEAR was recorded from Australia on June 20.
Stars seen through the tenuous coma
and filamentary tail appear as a series of short trails in
this three-color composite image registered
on the comet.
North is up and the scene covers about half the width of
the full Moon.
Now moving through the
constellation Cetus, comet LINEAR
will be
north of the celestial equator by July 4 as it
comes into view for eager northern sky-gazers.
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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 - Coma Cluster - C/2001 A2 - comet linear
Publications with words: comet - Coma Cluster - C/2001 A2 - comet linear
See also: