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Credit & Copyright: Bob Yen (Comet-Track)
Explanation:
Comet LINEAR's tail appears to be extending.
Many sky watchers are closely following Comet
C/1999 S4 LINEAR
and wondering if it will develop an
impressive tail or become
visible to the naked eye later this month.
So far, the unpredictable comet is moving oddly indicating that
exploding caverns
of heated gas are causing the
comet
to shift slightly in its
orbit around the
Sun.
This volatility contributes to
Comet LINEAR newly visible two-degree tail, discernable in the
above photographic
negative taken Friday from
California.
Current
brightness estimates indicate that
Comet LINEAR will just barely become visible
without binoculars in northern skies in the days surrounding July 23
during the early evening hours.
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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 - comet linear - tail - LINEAR
Publications with words: comet - comet linear - tail - LINEAR
See also:
- APOD: 2024 December 16 Á A Kilometer High Cliff on Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko
- APOD: 2024 November 27 Á The Meteor and the Comet
- APOD: 2024 November 11 Á The Unusual Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan Atlas
- APOD: 2024 November 6 Á Comet Tsuchinshan Atlas over the Dolomites
- APOD: 2024 October 21 Á Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS over California
- Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS Flys Away
- Most of Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS