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Credit & Copyright: Jose Mtanous
Explanation:
This pretty field of view spans over 2 degrees
or 4 full moons on the sky,
filled with stars toward the constellation Taurus, the Bull.
Above and right of center in the frame you can spot the faint fuzzy reddish
appearance of Messier 1 (M1),
also
known as the Crab Nebula.
M1 is the first object in 18th century comet hunter
Charles Messier's famous catalog of things which are
definitely not comets.
Made from image data captured this October 11,
there is a comet in the picture though.
Below center and left lies the faint greenish coma and dusty
tail of periodic comet
67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko,
also known as Rosetta's comet.
In the 21st century, it became the
final resting place of
robots from
planet Earth.
Rosetta's comet is
now returning to the inner solar system, sweeping
toward its next perihelion or closest approach to the Sun, on November 2.
Too faint to be seen
by eye alone, the comet's next perigee or closest
approach to Earth will be November 12.
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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 - Crab Nebula - M 1
Publications with words: comet - Crab Nebula - M 1
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