ScienceDaily (Jan. 20, 2007) — Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, is no more visible for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. It does put an impressive show in the South, however, and observers in Chile, in particular at the Paranal Observatory, were able to capture amazing images, including a display reminiscent of an aurora!
See Also: Space & Time Reference Comet C/2006 P1 was discovered in August 2006 by Robert McNaught on images taken with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt telescope in the course of the Siding Spring Survey (Australia). It is one of 29 comets discovered by this telescope since early 2004 in a project to systematically search the southern skies for asteroids, or comets, that can pass close to the Earth. At that time, the comet was only a very faint, barely diffuse object, about 50 000 times fainter than what the unaided eye can see. However, as the comet came closer to the Sun, it brightened rapidly, in such a way as to become easily visible with the unaided eye in early January 2007, becoming brighter than Comet Hale-Bopp and Comet West, thereby earning its title of Great Comet of 2007. It even became the brightest comet in more than 40 years. Comet McNaught had its closest approach to the Sun on 12 January, being well inside the orbit of Mercury, with a minimum distance of only 17% the mean Earth-Sun distance. On January 13, it reached its maximum brightness when it was possibly brighter than Venus. In early January, it was visible in the northern hemisphere but after passing the Sun, it only became visible from the southern hemisphere, entering the constellation Microscopium (The Microscope) on 18 January.Astronomers in ESO's observatories in Chile are thus optimally placed to enjoy the show and certainly do not want to miss it. The comet displays a vivid coma and a lovely, sweeping tail. As the night deepens, and the comet had set, it revealed a sweeping fan that gives onlookers the impression they are witnessing an aurora, albeit the phenomenon is completely different. The structure in the tail is probably the fingerprint of past bursts of activity of the comet, releasing small dust particles whose paths are deflected by the solar light.The comet is now heading further south and should still be nicely visible for southern observers for several days.
Email or share this story: |
More Story Source: The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by European Southern Observatory.
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats: APA
MLA
European Southern Observatory (2007, January 20). The Great Cometary Show: Comet McNaught Over Paranal.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2007/01/070119144255.htm
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead. 
The extended tail of Comet McNaught, seen from Paranal, observed in the evening of 18 January 2007, when the comet was setting behind the Pacific Ocean. The planet Venus is visible in the lower right of the image. (Image courtesy of European Southern Observatory) Ads by GoogleDrug Delivery Solutions40 years helping clients
find drug delivery solutions
www.elandrugtechnologies.comNANO MagazineGet the magazine on nanomaterials
and nanotech. Subscribe online!
www.nanomagazine.co.ukGold Nanorods -NexusRods™Available uncoated or surface
modified. Multi-label imaging.
www.buybbi.comNanotechnology PodcastLearn basics of nanotechnology.
Register for free nano podcast..
nano.asme.org/nano_podcast Related Stories 
SOHO Prepares For Comet McNaught (Jan. 12, 2007) — Recently, sky watchers in the Northern Hemisphere have been enjoying the sight of Comet McNaught in the twilight sky. Now, solar physicists using the ESA-NASA SOHO spacecraft are getting ready for ... >
read more 
Biggest Comet Measured to Date: Comet McNaught (Apr. 14, 2010) — Scientists have identified a new candidate for the biggest comet measured to date. Instead of using the length of the tail to measure the scale of the comet, the group have used data from the ... >
read more 
Celestial Whirligig: Unique Observations Of Comet McNaught Reveal Sprinkling Nucleus (Feb. 26, 2007) — Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, has been delighting those who have seen it with the unaided eye as a spectacular display in the evening sky. Pushing ESO's New Technology Telescope to its ... >
read more 
Mystery Comet Explodes Into Brightness (Oct. 26, 2007) — A once-faint comet has made a sudden leap from obscurity to center stage. Comet 17P Holmes, now visible to northern hemisphere residents, increased its brightness by a factor of one million this ... >
read more Ads by Google98% Thyroid Disease Cured100% Natural Herbs, with TGA, GMP,
SGS. Thousands of recovery cases!
www.greenlife-herbal.com Search ScienceDaily Number of stories in archives: 93,491 Find with keyword(s):
Enter a keyword or phrase to search ScienceDaily's archives for related news topics,
the latest news stories, reference articles, science videos, images, and books.
google_hints = "Asteroids, Comets and Meteors; Astronomy; Sun; Solar Flare; Northern Lights; Space Telescopes";google_ad_channel = "9363733909+4685929003+9396424931+8370406257+8476969570";google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);
Just In: Brain's Frontal Lobe Key to Automatic Responses Alcohol 'Most Harmful Drug', New Study Finds Galaxy Clusters Revealed by Cosmic 'Shadows' Saturn Rings Oscillate Like Mini-Milky Way 'High-Runner' Rats More Resistant to Disease Tracks of a Running Bipedal Baby Brontosaur? Human Immune System's Assassin Seen in Action Ribosome Formation Seen for First Time Saturn Rings Oscillate Like Mini-Milky Way //
Science Video News 
Chasing A Star Named MIRA Astronomers found a tail of carbon, oxygen, and other material trailing behind a dying star called Mira. People have watched the star break down for. ... >
full story google_hints = "Asteroids, Comets and Meteors; Astronomy; Sun; Solar Flare; Northern Lights; Space Telescopes"; google_ad_channel = "9363733909+4685929003+9396424931+8370406257+8476969570"; //google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);
Breaking News ... from NewsDaily.com 
google_hints = "Asteroids, Comets and Meteors; Astronomy; Sun; Solar Flare; Northern Lights; Space Telescopes"; google_ad_channel = "9363733909+4685929003+9396424931+8370406257+8476969570"; //google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);
In Other News ... Copyright Reuters 2008. See Restrictions. Free Subscriptions ... from ScienceDaily Get the latest science news with our free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:
Feedback ... we want to hear from you! Tell us what you think of the new ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?
- Your Name:
- Your Email:
- Comments:
- Click button to submit feedback:
About ScienceDaily® | Editorial Staff | Awards & Reviews | Contribute News | Adve 
The Great Cometary Show: Comet McNaught Over Paranal
أمس في 1:40 pm من طرف