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Credit & Copyright: A. Dimai, (Col Druscie
Obs.),
AAC
Explanation:
Comet Hale-Bopp,
the Great Comet of 1997,
became much brighter than any surrounding stars.
It was seen even over bright city lights.
Away from city lights, however, it put on quite a
spectacular show.
Here Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed above
Val Parola Pass in the
Dolomite
mountains surrounding
Cortina
d'Ampezzo,
Italy.
Comet Hale-Bopp's
blue ion tail, consisting of
ions from the
comet's nucleus,
is pushed out by the solar wind.
The white
dust tail is composed of larger particles of
dust from the nucleus driven by
the pressure of sunlight, that orbit behind the
comet.
Observations showed that Comet Hale-Bopp's nucleus spins about once every 12 hours.
A comet that may well exceed Hale-Bopp's
peak brightness is expected to fall into the inner Solar System next year.
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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 Hale-Bopp
Publications with words: Comet Hale-Bopp
See also: