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Credit & Copyright: Jiajie
Zhang
Explanation:
Fading now as it returns to the outer solar system
Comet Lovejoy
(C/2013 R1) still graces planet Earth's sky,
a delicate apparition in
binoculars
or small telescopes.
The comet, a relic
of the solar system's
formative years, is seen here rising in the morning twilight on January 12
among the stars of
Ophiuchus,
the Serpent Bearer.
Posing near the comet is bright star Alpha Ophiuchi, also
known
as Rasalhague, from Arabic "the head of the serpent collector".
Of course, the serpentine shape below is the ancient
Great Wall of China,
along the
Panlongshan
section northeast of Beijing.
Panlongshan is translated as "a coiled dragon".
A moving and fortuitous scene, it was captured with a digital camera and
telephoto lens in two consecutive exposures.
The exposures were merged to show a natural looking foreground
and twilight sky.
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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 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
- The Snows of Churyumov Gerasimenko