Astronomy Picture of the Day |
APOD: 1996 February 8 - Hyakutake: The Great Comet of 1996?
Explanation:
Get ready for one of the most impressive but least anticipated light shows
in modern astronomical history. Next month, newly discovered
Comet
Hyakutake will pass closer to the Earth than any recent
comet. Unknown
before its discovery by Yuji Hyakutake on 30 January 1996, the fuzzy spot
in the above photograph is a
comet now
predicted to become bright enough to see without a telescope. Although
comets
act in such diverse ways that predictions are frequently inaccurate,
even conservative estimates indicate that this comet is likely to impress.
For example, even if
Comet
Hyakutake remains physically unchanged, its
close pass near the Earth in late March 1996 should cause it to appear to
brighten to about
3rd
magnitude - still bright enough to see with the unaided
eye. In the next two months, though, the
comet
will continue to approach
the Sun and hence should become brighter still. Optimistic predictions
include that
Comet Hyakutake
will change physically, develop a larger
coma and
tail,
brighten dramatically, move noticeably in the sky during a single
night, and may ultimately become known as the "The Great Comet of 1996."
Move over Hale-Bopp!
APOD: 1998 August 17 - Comet Hyakutake and the Milky Way
Explanation:
Two years ago, the
Great Comet of 1996,
Comet Hyakutake,
inched across our northern sky during its
long orbit around the
Sun. Visible above as the
bright spot with the
faint tail
near the picture's center,
Comet Hyakutake
shares the stage with part of the central band of the
Milky Way Galaxy,
prominent in the picture's upper right. Also visible are
Antares,
the bright orange star in the upper right, Arcturus, the bright star on the lower left, and the
Pipe Nebula,
which is perhaps harder to find.
Comet Hyakutake's
unusually close approach to the
Earth allowed astronomers
to learn many things, including that
comets can emit much X-ray light.
APOD: 1998 July 17 - Hyakutake: Stars Through A Comet's Tail
Explanation:
Comets are cosmic icebergs.
They follow very elongated orbits
which carry them from the frozen, remote outer reaches of the Solar System
to close encounters with the Sun.
Heated by sunlight, they slough off layers
of material as
gas and dust, forming their characteristic
awe-inspiring comas (heads) and tails.
In the spring of 1996,
Comet Hyakutake inspired Arizona
photographers Rick Scott
and Joe Orman to take this picture
showing faint stars near
the constellation Ursa Minor
(the Little Dipper) shining through the comet's long, graceful tail.
Blown by the solar wind,
comet tails
generally point
away from the Sun.
Authors & editors:
Robert
Nemiroff
(MTU)
& Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.:
Jay Norris.
Specific rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA/
GSFC
&
Michigan Tech. U.