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Credit & Copyright: Jose Mtanous
Explanation:
This pretty field of view spans over 2 degrees
or 4 full moons on the sky,
filled with stars toward the constellation Taurus, the Bull.
Above and right of center in the frame you can spot the faint fuzzy reddish
appearance of Messier 1 (M1),
also
known as the Crab Nebula.
M1 is the first object in 18th century comet hunter
Charles Messier's famous catalog of things which are
definitely not comets.
Made from image data captured this October 11,
there is a comet in the picture though.
Below center and left lies the faint greenish coma and dusty
tail of periodic comet
67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko,
also known as Rosetta's comet.
In the 21st century, it became the
final resting place of
robots from
planet Earth.
Rosetta's comet is
now returning to the inner solar system, sweeping
toward its next perihelion or closest approach to the Sun, on November 2.
Too faint to be seen
by eye alone, the comet's next perigee or closest
approach to Earth will be November 12.
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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 - Crab Nebula - M 1
Publications with words: comet - Crab Nebula - M 1
See also:
- Periodic Comet Swift Tuttle
- Comet Olbers over Kunetice Castle
- APOD: 2024 July 23 Á The Crab Nebula from Visible to X Ray
- Comet 13P Olbers
- APOD: 2024 June 4 Á Comet Pons Brooks Develops Opposing Tails
- APOD: 2024 April 17 Á Total Eclipse and Comets
- APOD: 2024 April 8 Á The Changing Ion Tail of Comet Pons Brooks