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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня Комета ZTF: пересекая плоскость орбиты http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1875759/eng |
Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett
Explanation:
The current darling
of the
northern night,
Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF
is captured in this telescopic image from a dark sky location
at June Lake, California.
Of
course Comet ZTF
has been
growing
brighter
in recent days,
headed for its closest approach to Earth on February 1.
But this view was recorded on January 23, very close to the time
planet Earth crossed the orbital plane of
long-period
Comet ZTF.
The comet's broad, whitish dust tail is still curved and
fanned out
away from the Sun as Comet ZTF sweeps along its orbit.
Due to perspective near the
orbital plane
crossing, components of the fanned out dust tail appear
on both sides of the comet's green tinted coma though, to lend
Comet ZTF a visually striking (left)
anti-tail.
Buffeted
by solar activity
the comet's narrower ion tail also streams away
from the coma diagonally to the right,
across the nearly three degree wide field of view.
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.