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Credit & Copyright: Loke Kun Tan
(StarryScapes)
Explanation:
Inbound from the distant solar system,
comet C/2001 Q4
will soon pass just inside planet Earth's orbit
and should be one of two
bright,
naked-eye comets
visible in
southern skies
in May.
First picked up nearly three years ago by the
Near Earth Asteroid Tracking
(NEAT) project
Q4 appears in both of these stunning telescopic views
recorded only a few days ago,
on April 18th (left) and 19th, from a site near Alcohuaz, Chile.
Remarkable changes in the structure of the long, graceful tail
can be seen by comparing the two photos, including the
dramatic kink
seen near the tail's midpoint on April 19th.
The apparent motion of the comet sweeping
across
the sky is evident when you compare the position of the tail
relative to background galaxy NGC 1313, visible as a smudge
near the top of each image.
Q4's closest approach to the Sun will be on May 15th while its
closest encounter with planet Earth will be arround May 7th
(see animation by
L. Koehn).
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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
Publications with words: comet
See also:
- APOD: 2025 January 13 Á Comet ATLAS Before Sunrise
- 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