by APOD Robot » Tue Feb 19, 2019 5:13 am
Comet Iwamoto Before Spiral Galaxy NGC 2903
Explanation: It isn't every night that a comet passes a galaxy. Last Thursday, though, binocular comet
C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) moved nearly in front of a spiral galaxy of approximately the same brightness:
NGC 2903.
Comet Iwamoto was discovered late last year and orbits
the Sun in a long
ellipse. It last visited the inner Solar System during the
Middle Ages, around the year 648.
The comet reached its closest point to the Sun -- between Earth and Mars -- on February 6, and its closest point to
Earth a few days ago, on February 13. The
featured time-lapse video condenses almost three hours into about ten seconds, and was captured last week from
Switzerland. At that time
Comet Iwamoto, sporting a
green coma, was about 10 light minutes distant, while spiral galaxy
NGC 2903 remained about 30 million
light years away. Two satellites zip diagonally through the field about a third of the way through the video. Typically,
a few comets each year become as bright as
Comet Iwamoto.
[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190219.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_190219.jpg[/img] [size=150]Comet Iwamoto Before Spiral Galaxy NGC 2903[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] It isn't every night that a comet passes a galaxy. Last Thursday, though, binocular comet [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2018_Y1_(Iwamoto)]C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)[/url] moved nearly in front of a spiral galaxy of approximately the same brightness: [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150410.html]NGC 2903[/url]. [url=https://www.universetoday.com/141385/comet-y1-iwamoto-tops-out-in-february/]Comet Iwamoto[/url] was discovered late last year and orbits [url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/in-depth/]the Sun[/url] in a long [url=https://www.intmath.com/plane-analytic-geometry/ellipse-interactive.php]ellipse[/url]. It last visited the inner Solar System during the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages]Middle Ages[/url], around the year 648. [url=https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/c-2018-y1-iwamoto-jan-feb-2019]The comet[/url] reached its closest point to the Sun -- between Earth and Mars -- on February 6, and its closest point to [url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/in-depth/]Earth[/url] a few days ago, on February 13. The [url=https://www.facebook.com/norbert.span.1/posts/999275483604179]featured time-lapse video[/url] condenses almost three hours into about ten seconds, and was captured last week from [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland]Switzerland[/url]. At that time [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190209.html]Comet Iwamoto[/url], sporting a [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160605.html]green coma[/url], was about 10 light minutes distant, while spiral galaxy [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2903]NGC 2903[/url] remained about 30 million [url=https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/]light years[/url] away. Two satellites zip diagonally through the field about a third of the way through the video. Typically, [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170923.html]a few comets[/url] each year become as bright as [url=https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/comet-iwamoto-ascends-and-brightens/]Comet Iwamoto[/url].
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