Astronomy Picture of the Day -- The Hunter, the Bull, and Lovejoy

NASA ^ | January 14, 2015 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: Heading north, Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) is putting on its best show for comet watchers now, with moonlight absent from mid-January's early evening skies. An easy binocular target and just visible to the unaided eye from dark sites, the comet sweeps across the constellation Taurus the Bull in this deep night skyscape. The starry scene was captured just two days ago on January 12, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, planet Earth. In fact, the head of Taurus formed by the V-shaped Hyades star cluster points toward Lovejoy at the right. The comet's greenish coma and tail streaming in the anti-sunward direction also seem to have been shot from Orion's bow. You can spot the familiar stars of the nebula rich constellation of the Hunter on the left, and follow this link to highlight Comet Lovejoy in the wide field of view.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit and Copyright: Mike Cavaroc]

[SunkenCiv]

No bigger version on APoD.

join or quit list APoD 'blog post new APoD topic Astronomy Picture of the Day topic & keyword Astronomy Chat, Bloggers & keyword Science Chat, Bloggers & keyword NASA's APoD archive Calendar 1995-present APoD on your desktop

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Shoot! I got the info wrong. We were watching this that night and didn’t look far enough to our right! Grrrr! I, for some reason, thought it was lower in the sky, under Orion’s belt.

Oh, well. I’m sure I’ll still be here when it comes around again. *SMIRK* :)