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Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett
Explanation:
History's second known periodic comet is
Comet Encke (2P/Encke).
As it swings through the inner
Solar System, Encke's
orbit takes it from an aphelion, its greatest distance from the Sun,
inside the orbit of Jupiter to a
perihelion just inside the orbit of Mercury.
Returning to its perihelion every 3.3 years, Encke has the shortest
period of the Solar
System's
major comets.
Comet Encke is also associated with
(at least)
two annual meteor showers on
planet Earth, the
North
and South Taurids.
Both showers are active in late October and early November.
Their two separate radiants lie near bright star Aldebaran in the head-strong
constellation Taurus.
A faint comet, Encke was captured in
this telescopic field of view
imaged on the morning of August 24.
Then, Encke's pretty greenish coma was close on the sky to
the young, embedded star cluster and light-years long,
tadpole-shaped
star-forming clouds in emission nebula IC 410.
Now near bright star Spica
in Virgo Comet Encke passed its 2023 perihelion only five days ago,
on October 22.
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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 Encke
Publications with words: comet Encke
See also: