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Credit & Copyright: Damian Peach
Explanation:
Comet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2, is framed like a cosmic Christmas tree
with starry decorations in this colorful telescopic portrait, snapped
on December 16th.
Its lovely coma is tinted
green by diatomic C2 gas fluorescing in
sunlight.
Discovered in August of this year,
this
Comet Lovejoy is currently
sweeping north through the constellation Columba, heading for Lepus
south of Orion and bright enough to offer
good binocular
views.
Not its first time through the inner Solar System, this Comet Lovejoy
will pass closest to planet Earth on January 7, while
its perihelion (closest point to the Sun) will be on January 30.
Of course, planet Earth's own 2015 perihelion passage is scheduled for
January 4.
A
long period comet,
this Comet Lovejoy should return again ... in
about 8,000 years.
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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: 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