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Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett`
Explanation:
Heading for its next perihelion passage on April 21,
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
is growing brighter.
The greenish coma of this periodic Halley-type comet
has become relatively easy to observe in small telescopes.
But the
bluish ion tail
now streaming from the active comet's
coma and buffeted by the solar wind, is faint and difficult to follow.
Still,
in this image
stacked exposures made on the night of February 11
reveal the fainter tail's detailed structures.
The frame spans over two degrees across a
background of faint stars and background galaxies
toward the northern constellation Lacerta.
Of
course
Comet 12P's April 21 perihelion passage will be only
two weeks after the April 8 total solar eclipse, putting
the comet in planet Earth's sky along with a
totally
eclipsed Sun.
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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: