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Credit & Copyright: German Penelas Perez
Explanation:
Imaged on July 15 2022,
comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS)
had a
Messier
moment, sharing this wide telescopic field of view
with globular star cluster Messier 10.
Of course M10 was cataloged by 18th century comet hunter
Charles Messier as the 10th object on his
list of things that were definitely not comets.
While M10 is about 14 thousand light-years distant,
this comet PanSTARRS was about 15 light-seconds
from our fair planet following its
its July 14 closest approach.
Its greenish coma and dust tail
entertaining 21st century comet watchers,
C/2017 K2 is expected to remain a fine telescopic comet in
northern summer skies.
On a maiden voyage from our Solar System's remote
Oort Cloud
this comet PanSTARRS was discovered in May 2017
when it was beyond the orbit of Saturn.
At the time that made it the most
distant
active inbound comet
known.
Its closest approach the Sun will be within 1.8
astronomical units
on December 19, beyond the orbital distance of Mars.
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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: M 10 - comet
Publications with words: M 10 - comet
See also:
- Comet 13P Olbers
- 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