Credit & Copyright: Johnny Horne,
Fayetteville Publishing Co.
Explanation:
The above
true-color photo taken March 25th shows
Comet Hyakutake passing below the stars of the
Big Dipper.
Many astronomy enthusiasts delight in helping people in their local
community see the comet. Both Jerry Bonnell and I (RJN) from
APOD have been so inclined - both now and
when
Comet Halley came by in 1986. During these sessions, many good
questions are asked and occasionally a humorous situation will arise.
One was with a little girl. She
waited so patiently for her turn to look through the telescope, hardly able
to contain her excitement. Finally her
turn came. "Do you see the comet?" I asked. "Wow, wow, WOW!" She beamed.
"You see it?" "No." One little boy seemed particularly bent on
destruction. "This telescope looks like a big gun," he volunteered. "In
some ways, it's even more powerful than a gun," I replied, hoping to
challenge his imagination. "Really?" he countered. "Can we shoot down the
comet?" "How expensive is the telescope?" is a fairly common question. But
one time a real business-person showed up and, possibly feeling
particularly affluent, asked "How much is the comet?"
Latest Comet Hyakutake images:
JPL,
Crni Vrh Observatory,
Slovenia,
Fayetteville
Observer-Times,
NASA's Night of
the Comet
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
|
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 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