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Credit & Copyright: Gerald Rhemann
Explanation:
Newly discovered Comet SWAN has already developed an impressive tail.
The comet came in from the outer
Solar System and has just passed inside the
orbit
of the Earth.
Officially designated
C/2020 F8 (SWAN),
this outgassing interplanetary iceberg will pass its closest to the
Earth on May 13,
and closest to the
Sun
on May 27.
The comet was
first noticed in late March by an astronomy enthusiast
looking through images taken by NASA's Sun-orbiting
SOHO spacecraft,
and is named for this spacecraft's
Solar Wind Anisotropies
(SWAN) camera.
The featured
image, taken from the
dark skies in
Namibia in mid-April, captured
Comet SWAN's
green-glowing coma and unexpectedly long, detailed, and
blue ion-tail.
Although the brightness of comets are notoriously
hard to predict, some models have Comet SWAN becoming
bright enough
to
see with the unaided eye during
June.
Experts Debate:
How will humanity first discover
extraterrestrial life?
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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 June 4 Á Comet Pons Brooks Develops Opposing Tails
- APOD: 2024 April 17 Á Total Eclipse and Comets
- APOD: 2024 April 8 Á The Changing Ion Tail of Comet Pons Brooks
- Comet Pons-Brooks at Night
- APOD: 2024 March 18 Á Comet Pons Brooks Swirling Coma
- Comet 12P/Pons Brooks in Northern Spring
- Structure in the Tail of Comet 12P/Pons Brooks