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Credit & Copyright: Damian Peach
Explanation:
While anxiously
waiting for Comet ISON
to brighten further as it falls toward the Sun,
northern skygazers can also find three other bright comets
in the east before dawn.
In fact,
Comet Lovejoy C/2013 R1 is currently the
morning sky's brightest.
Only discovered in September and not a sungrazing comet,
this
Comet Lovejoy is nearing the edge of naked-eye visibility
and might be spotted from very dark sky sites.
Sporting a greenish coma
and tail in this telescopic view taken on November 7,
Comet Lovejoy is about
0.5 AU
from our fair planet and 1.2 AU from the Sun.
The comet is having a photogenic Messier moment, sweeping past
well known
star cluster M44,
the Beehive in Cancer.
Yellowish bright star Delta Cancri is near the bottom of the frame.
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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:
- 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
- Comet Pons-Brooks at Night
- APOD: 2024 March 18 Á Comet Pons Brooks Swirling Coma
- Comet 12P/Pons Brooks in Northern Spring