Credit & Copyright: Mike Cavaroc
Explanation:
Heading north, Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2)
is putting on its best show for
comet
watchers now, with moonlight absent from mid-January's
early evening skies.
An easy binocular target and just visible to the unaided eye from
dark sites, the comet sweeps across the constellation Taurus the Bull
in this deep night skyscape.
The starry scene was captured just two days ago on
January 12, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming,
planet Earth.
In fact, the head of Taurus formed by the V-shaped
Hyades star
cluster points toward Lovejoy at the right.
The comet's greenish coma and tail streaming in the anti-sunward
direction also seem to have been shot
from Orion's bow.
You can spot the familiar stars of the nebula
rich constellation of the Hunter on the left, and
follow this link
to highlight Comet Lovejoy in the wide field of view.
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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: Orion - comet
Publications with words: Orion - comet
See also:
- 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
- APOD: 2024 January 31 Á Camera Orion Rising
- APOD: 2024 January 16 Á The Orion You Can Almost See
- The Snows of Churyumov Gerasimenko
- Vega and Comet 12P Pons-Brooks