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Credit & Copyright: Bob Franke
Explanation:
Comet C/2014 S2 (PanSTARRS)
poses for a Messier moment in this
telescopic snapshot from April 18.
In fact it shares the 1.5 degree wide
field-of-view with two well-known entries in the 18th century
comet-hunting astronomer's
famous catalog.
Outward bound and sweeping through northern skies just below the
Big Dipper,
the fading visitor to the inner Solar System was about 18
light-minutes from our fair planet.
Dusty, edge-on spiral galaxy Messier 108 (upper right) is more
like 45 million light-years away.
A planetary nebula with an aging but intensely hot central star,
the owlish Messier 97 is only
about 12 thousand light-years
distant though, still well within our own Milky Way galaxy.
Astronomers expect the
orbit
of this comet PanSTARRS to return it
to the inner Solar System
around the year 4226.
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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