Astronomy Picture of the Day -- This Comet Lovejoy

NASA ^ | December 25, 2014 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: Comet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2, is framed like a cosmic Christmas tree with starry decorations in this colorful telescopic portrait, snapped on December 16th. Its lovely coma is tinted green by diatomic C2 gas fluorescing in sunlight. Discovered in August of this year, this Comet Lovejoy is currently sweeping north through the constellation Columba, heading for Lepus south of Orion and bright enough to offer good binocular views. Not its first time through the inner Solar System, this Comet Lovejoy will pass closest to planet Earth on January 7, while its perihelion (closest point to the Sun) will be on January 30. Of course, planet Earth's own 2015 perihelion passage is scheduled for January 4. A long period comet, this Comet Lovejoy should return again ... in about 8,000 years.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit & Copyright: Damian Peach]

[SunkenCiv]

2015 APoD Calendar

The Big One

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[SunkenCiv]

Watch a Green Comet Streak Across the Sky for Christmas
Comet Lovejoy is brightening faster than expected, putting on a show you can see for yourself this holiday season
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141224-starstruck-comet-lovejoy-christmas-astronomy-science/

[Delta 21]

I love the big ones.

[KoRn]

Will have to break out the binoculars and look for this.

I wonder if we’ll ever have another comet as spectacular as Halebop or Hyakutake during our lifetime. Those were truly incredible to see!

[Rodamala]

I love “The Big Ones” too... I always enlarge it and look for all the galaxies... there is a spiral galaxy on the left part way up.

[onyx]

B T T T ! ! ! ©

[dagogo redux]

Knew a guy once named Morris Lester Lovejoy. Went by the name of “Mo.”

Say it quickly three times to determine how sadistic his parents were.

[TheOldLady]

Wow. That’s a beautiful light show if I ever saw one.

Too bad we won’t see it again for 8,000 years. Sigh...

Thank you, as ever, for the post and ping, Sir.

[SunkenCiv]

Agreed. and yeah, I’m pretty much booked 8000 years from now. ;’)

[SunkenCiv]

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/greencomet/index

[chimera]

I don't see it. I see one above the nucleus about halfway to the top of the frame, just to the left of the dust tail.

Looks like multiple ion tails on this one, and a lovely, feathery dust tail.

[TheOldLady]

Who is she? I’m jealous. ;-)

[Rodamala]

It was in The Big One that Delta21 posted... I looked at that one first, and it is a different image from SC's... look on the left side partway up. Image is too big to see whole thing on my phone so I can't tell if it is 8 o'clock from the nucleus or 10. You'll see it... perfect face-on spiral galaxy with 2 distinct arms.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3240931/posts?page=4#4

[Rodamala]

[chimera]

I got the right picture now (was using the wrong one). It looks like a barred spiral. Very lovely. There is an edge-on view of a spiral if you follow the right-hand edge of the comet's dust tail just to where you see a bright white star with prominent diffraction spikes very close to the tail. The galaxy is just off the edge of the dust tail.

[chimera]

There’s a bunch of them. Using Delta21’s “Big One” link at post 4, you can see a neat asterism of six yellow stars above and left of the comet’s nucleus, that looks like an inverted hockey stick. Rodamala’s barred spiral is just below the blade of the hockey stick. If you use the two stars that form the blade of the hockey stick as pointers, track right just past the dust tail and you will see my edge-on spiral. Just below that along the edge of the comet’s tail is another smudge that looks like it could be a classic spiral.

[Rodamala]

Yes, I saw those too! It makes one feel quite puny in the universe, doesn’t it?

[chimera]

Yes. Now check me on this one. Look to the right of the edge-on spiral near the tail. You'll see the very bright white star with the diffraction spikes. Look further right and you'll see another bright white star with diffraction spikes. Above this one is a series of smudges that is either a cluster of galaxies, or whatever the galactic analog of asterism is. Looks like five smudges to me, but maybe more.

[originalbuckeye]

Does anyone else see a possible nebula? Straight up a ways from the spiral/barred galaxy?