Comet Hale-Bopp Outbound
Explanation:
Hale-Bopp,
the Comet of the Century, is leaving the inner Solar System.
Outbound at about 12 miles per second it is presently nearing the main
asteroid belt
between
Mars and
Jupiter.
This false-color image represents a recent
view from low Earth orbit showing the comet surrounded
by
its shrinking coma
against a background of stars.
It was constructed from a fraction of the
data taken aboard the
Space Shuttle Discovery in
August by a small innovative telescopic camera known as
the Southwest Ultraviolet Imaging System
or SWUIS.
SWUIS (sounds like "swiss") images will be particularly
interesting to astronomers who wish to continue to follow
the Great Comet's interaction with
the Solar Wind.
The once bright Hale-Bopp
has faded below 4th
magnitude
but is
still visible to Earthbound observers
south of 35 degrees north latitude.
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.
