Comet Halley's Nucleus
Explanation:
Here is what a comet nucleus really looks
like. For all active comets except
Halley,
it was only possible to see the surrounding opaque gas cloud called
the coma. During
Comet Halley's
most recent pass through the inner
Solar System
in 1986, however, spacecraft
Giotto
was able to go right up to the comet and photograph its nucleus.
The above image is a composite of hundreds of these photographs.
Although the most famous comet,
Halley
achieved in 1986 only 1/10th the brightness that
Comet Hyakutake
did last year, and a similar comparison is likely with next year's
pass of
Comet Hale-Bopp. Every 76
years Comet
Halley comes around again,
and each time the nucleus sheds about 6 meters of ice and rock
into space. This debris composes Halley's
tails
and leaves an orbiting trail that, when falling to
Earth,
are called the
Orionids Meteor Shower.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
