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Credit & Copyright: Raul
Villaverde Fraile
Explanation:
Sweeping through this stunning field of view,
Comet 71P/Clark
really is in the foreground of these cosmic clouds.
The 2 panel telescopic mosaic is color enhanced and is about 5 degrees
(10 full moons) across.
It captures the faint
comet's position on the
night of May 23/24 over 5 light-minutes from Earth,
very near the line-of-sight to
bright star Antares and the
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.
In the frame
Antares, also known as Alpha Scorpii, is at bottom center surrounded
by a dusty cosmic cloud reflecting the cool giant star's yellowish light.
Globular star cluster M4 shines just right of Antares,
but M4 lies some 7,000 light-years away compared to Antares'
500 light-year distance.
Slightly closer than Antares, Rho Ophiuchi's bluish starlight is
reflected by the dust in
molecular clouds
toward the top.
You can spot the small coma and short tail of the comet
as a faint smudge near the center of the left edge of the frame.
Just look for the comet's striking greenish color, produced as diatomic
carbon molecules fluoresce
in sunlight.
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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