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Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Polaris and Comet Lovejoy
NASA ^ | June 02, 2015 | (see photo credit)

Posted on 06/02/2015 10:34:39 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

Explanation: One of these two bright sky objects is moving. On the right is the famous star Polaris. Although only the 45th brightest star in the sky, Polaris is famous for appearing stationary. Once you find it, it will always appear in the same direction -- all night and all day -- for the rest of your life. This is because the northern spin pole of the Earth -- called the North Celestial Pole -- points near Polaris. On the left, about ten million times closer, is Comet Lovejoy, which noticeably changes its sky position by the hour. The featured image was taken last week. Officially designated C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy), this disintegrating snowball is on a visit from the outer Solar System and will only appear near the North Star for a few more weeks. That should be long enough, however, for northerners with binoculars or a small telescope to see the greenish coma of this fleeting newcomer, perhaps with the help of a good star map.

June 02, 2015

(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; c2014q2; cometlovejoy; greencomet; polaris; polestar; science
[Credit and Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo]

1 posted on 06/02/2015 10:34:39 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; bigheadfred; KoRn; Grammy; steelyourfaith; Mmogamer; dayglored; ...
Nice one, green comet, Polaris, star field.
The Big One

2 posted on 06/02/2015 10:36:35 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (What do we want? REGIME CHANGE! When do we want it? NOW!)
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To: SunkenCiv

Helpful hint: the elevation of Polaris above the horizon is equal to your latitude on Earth in the Northern Hemisphere.


3 posted on 06/02/2015 10:45:47 AM PDT by pabianice (LINE)
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To: SunkenCiv
B T T T ! ! ! ©

4 posted on 06/02/2015 11:57:37 AM PDT by onyx (PLEASE SUPPORT FR. Donate Monthly or Join Club 300! God bless you all.)
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To: pabianice
Helpful hint: the elevation of Polaris above the horizon is equal to your latitude on Earth in the Northern Hemisphere.

Thank you!
I've dabbled a bit in astronomy, and I didn't know that.

5 posted on 06/02/2015 12:09:31 PM PDT by FreedomOfExpression
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