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Credit & Copyright: Fritz Helmut Hemmerich
Explanation:
What's happened to Comet Lovejoy?
In the
pictured image, a processed
composite,
the comet was captured early this month after brightening unexpectedly and sporting
a long and intricate
ion tail.
Remarkably, the typically complex effect of the
Sun's wind and
magnetic field
here caused the middle of
Comet Lovejoy's
ion tail to resemble the head of a needle.
Comet C/2017 E4 (Lovejoy) was discovered only last month
by
noted
comet
discoverer
Terry Lovejoy.
The comet reached
visual magnitude 7
earlier this month, making it a good target for binoculars and long duration
exposure cameras.
What's happened to
Comet Lovejoy (E4)
since this image was taken might be considered even more remarkable --
the comet's nucleus appeared to be
disintegrating
and fading as it neared its closest approach to the
Sun two days ago.
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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 - comet tail
Publications with words: comet - comet tail
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