|
Credit & Copyright: John Gleason
(Celestial Images)
Explanation:
In 1997,
Comet Hale-Bopp's intrinsic brightness exceeded any comet since
1811.
Since it peaked on the other side of the Earth's orbit,
however, the comet appeared only brighter than any comet in
two decades.
Visible above are the
two tails shed by
Comet Hale-Bopp.
The
blue ion tail is composed of
ionized gas molecules, of which
carbon monoxide
particularly glows blue when reacquiring
electrons.
This tail is created by the particles from the fast
solar wind interacting
with gas from the comet's head.
The blue
ion tail points directly away from the
Sun.
The light colored
dust tail is created
by bits of grit that have come off the
comet's nucleus
and are being pushed away by the
pressure of light from the Sun.
This tail points nearly away from the Sun.
The above photograph was taken in March 1997.
|
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 Hale-Bopp - comet tail
Publications with words: Comet Hale-Bopp - comet tail
See also: