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Credit & Copyright: Ruslan Merzlyakov
(RMS Photography)
Explanation:
Today Comet Wirtanen passes by the Earth.
The kilometer-sized dirty snowball orbits the Sun every 5.4 years,
ranging as far out as
Jupiter and as close in as the
Earth.
Today
Comet 46P/Wirtanen passes within only
31 lunar distances to the Earth, the closest approach in 70 years.
If you know
where to look (Taurus),
you can see
the comet through binoculars as an unusual
blue smudge.
Pictured
a week ago,
Comet Wirtanen was photographed in the sky beyond an old abandoned church in
Skagen,
Denmark.
The image composite also captures the astrophotographer.
After
today, the comet will begin to fade as
it recedes from the Earth and the Sun.
Free Download:
2019 APOD Calendar (v5)
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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: 2025 January 26 Á The Many Tails of Comet G3 ATLAS
- Comet G3 ATLAS: a Tail and a Telescope
- APOD: 2025 January 21 Á Comet ATLAS over Brasilia
- APOD: 2025 January 20 Á Comet ATLAS Rounds the Sun
- APOD: 2025 January 13 Á Comet ATLAS Before Sunrise
- APOD: 2024 December 16 Á A Kilometer High Cliff on Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko
- APOD: 2024 November 27 Á The Meteor and the Comet