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Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal
Andreo (Deep Sky Colors)
Explanation:
Stars of the Hyades
cluster are scattered through this mosaic
spanning over 5 degrees on the sky toward the constellation Taurus.
Presently cruising through the Solar System, the
remarkably blue comet
C/2016 R2 PanSTARRS is placed in
the wide field of view using image data from January 12.
With the apex of the V-shape in the Hyades cluster
positioned near the top center,
bright
Aldebaran, alpha star of Taurus,
anchors the frame at the lower right.
A cool red giant, Aldebaran is seen in orange hues in the
colorful starfield.
While the stars of the Hyades are gathered 151 light-years away,
Aldebaran lies only 65 light-years distant and so is separate
from the cluster stars.
On
January 12, C/2016 R2 was over 17 light-minutes from planet
Earth and nearly 24 light-minutes from the Sun.
Its blue tinted tail largely due to
CO+ gas
fluorescing in sunlight, the
head
or coma
of the comet appears with a slightly greenish hue,
likely emission from diatomic carbon.
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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 - hyades
Publications with words: comet - hyades
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