|
Credit & Copyright: Jimmy Westlake
(Colorado
Mountain College)
Explanation:
Comet
Ikeya-Zhang ("ee-KAY-uh JONG") has become
a most photogenic comet.
This lovely early evening view of
the comet
in Rocky Mountain skies
looks northwest over ridges and low clouds.
The time exposure was recorded on March 31st from
an 8,000 foot elevation near Yampa, Colorado, USA.
Sporting
a sweeping yellowish dust
tail
and blue ion
tail eight to
ten degrees long, Ikeya-Zhang is nestled near the horizon in the
northern constellation of
Andromeda.
To the comet's left is the bright star
Mirach
or Beta Andromedae while the stretched celestial fuzzball to the
comet's right is M31 or the
Andromeda galaxy, the nearest bright
spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way.
As the days pass, Comet Ikeya-Zhang's
apparent motion
through the sky is towards the right in this image.
Tonight,
comet-watchers
blessed with clear skies should find Ikeya-Zhang
posing perfectly
for binoculars and cameras just above M31, less than two degrees
from the center of the bright galaxy.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Ikeya-Zhang - c/2002 c1 - Andromeda galaxy
Publications with words: comet Ikeya-Zhang - c/2002 c1 - Andromeda galaxy
See also: