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To: wolfcreek

I’ve never heard of an ‘anti-tail’ before...sure hope this one misses us, anti-tail and all!


8 posted on 01/08/2009 4:39:04 AM PST by blueplum
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To: blueplum

antitail


Part of the dust tail of a comet that seems to point, often like a spike, toward the Sun. This rare phenomenon is an illusion caused by the viewing geometry and typically occurs when Earth crosses the plane of a comet’s orbit when the comet is relatively close to the Sun. Under these circumstances, the cometary dust, which lies in a thin sheet and lags behind the comet, may be seen edge-on as an antitail.

If you can’t see ANY tail, does that mean it’s headed straight for you?


9 posted on 01/08/2009 4:42:01 AM PST by wolfcreek (I see miles and miles of Texas....let's keep it that way.)
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