Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured , along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2003 March 6 
Posted on 03/05/2003 10:44:26 PM PST by petuniasevan
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured , along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2003 March 6
Explanation: After last month's dramatic swoop past the Sun, Comet NEAT (C/2002 V1) appeared as a naked-eye comet, emerging from the evening twilight in planet Earth's southern skies. On March 1st, New Zealand photographer Noel Munford captured this telephoto view of the outbound comet close to the southwestern horizon against the faint stars of the constellation Sculptor. He reports that the picture is a good representation of the comet's visual appearance on that date and estimates the impressive tail to be five or six degrees long. Discovered last November as part of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program, there was some speculation that this comet would not survive its close encounter with the Sun. However, Comet NEAT is now returning to the outer solar system, diving southward and fading fast.
Actually, it will, but not until it is a VERY faint telescopic object indeed.
This image is a collage of four images obtained by the Solar & Heliospheric
Observatory (SOHO) at 10:54 UT on 2003 February 17, 18, 19, and 20.
The white circle near the center of the left margin represents the outline of the sun.
For those of you who are amateur astronomers, here's comet NEAT's ephemeris.
Date TT R. A. (2000) Decl. Delta r Elong. Phase m1 m2
2003 03 02 23 43.20 -28 06.5 1.171 0.487 24.2 56.6 5.2 2003 03 07 00 25.54 -28 17.2 1.275 0.634 29.2 49.8 6.5 2003 03 12 00 59.65 -27 29.5 1.388 0.768 32.6 44.2 7.6 2003 03 17 01 27.40 -26 18.0 1.506 0.893 34.8 39.5 8.4 2003 03 22 01 50.38 -24 59.1 1.626 1.011 36.2 35.6 9.1 2003 03 27 02 09.79 -23 40.7 1.746 1.123 37.0 32.3 9.7 2003 04 01 02 26.52 -22 26.7 1.864 1.230 37.3 29.5 10.3 2003 04 06 02 41.19 -21 18.6 1.982 1.333 37.4 27.1 10.7 2003 04 11 02 54.27 -20 16.9 2.096 1.432 37.2 25.0 11.2 2003 04 16 03 06.08 -19 21.9 2.207 1.528 36.9 23.2 11.6 2003 04 21 03 16.86 -18 33.1 2.315 1.622 36.5 21.6 11.9 2003 04 26 03 26.81 -17 50.4 2.419 1.713 36.2 20.3 12.3 2003 05 01 03 36.06 -17 13.4 2.519 1.802 35.9 19.1 12.6 2003 05 06 03 44.72 -16 41.9 2.614 1.888 35.7 18.1 12.8 2003 05 11 03 52.86 -16 15.6 2.705 1.973 35.6 17.3 13.1 2003 05 16 04 00.54 -15 54.2 2.791 2.057 35.7 16.7 13.4 2003 05 21 04 07.82 -15 37.4 2.873 2.138 36.0 16.1 13.6 2003 05 26 04 14.73 -15 25.0 2.950 2.218 36.4 15.7 13.8 2003 05 31 04 21.31 -15 16.9 3.022 2.297 37.2 15.5 14.0 2003 06 05 04 27.56 -15 12.9 3.089 2.375 38.1 15.3 14.2 2003 06 10 04 33.51 -15 12.9 3.151 2.451 39.3 15.2 14.4 2003 06 15 04 39.17 -15 16.8 3.209 2.526 40.6 15.2 14.6 2003 06 20 04 44.53 -15 24.3 3.261 2.600 42.2 15.2 14.7 2003 06 25 04 49.62 -15 35.5 3.309 2.673 44.0 15.3 14.9 2003 06 30 04 54.42 -15 50.2 3.352 2.745 46.0 15.5 15.0 2003 07 05 04 58.93 -16 08.5 3.391 2.816 48.2 15.6 15.1 2003 07 10 05 03.15 -16 30.0 3.425 2.887 50.5 15.8 15.3 2003 07 15 05 07.06 -16 54.9 3.455 2.956 53.0 15.9 15.4 2003 07 20 05 10.67 -17 22.9 3.481 3.025 55.6 16.1 15.5 2003 07 25 05 13.96 -17 54.0 3.503 3.093 58.3 16.2 15.6 2003 07 30 05 16.91 -18 28.2 3.521 3.160 61.2 16.4 15.7 2003 08 04 05 19.51 -19 05.3 3.536 3.227 64.2 16.4 15.8 2003 08 09 05 21.74 -19 45.1 3.548 3.293 67.3 16.5 15.9 2003 08 14 05 23.59 -20 27.4 3.558 3.358 70.5 16.5 16.0 2003 08 19 05 25.03 -21 12.2 3.565 3.422 73.8 16.5 16.1 2003 08 24 05 26.05 -21 59.1 3.570 3.487 77.1 16.4 16.2 2003 08 29 05 26.62 -22 48.0 3.574 3.550 80.5 16.3 16.3 2003 09 03 05 26.72 -23 38.5 3.576 3.613 84.0 16.1 16.3 2003 09 08 05 26.34 -24 30.3 3.579 3.675 87.5 15.9 16.4 2003 09 13 05 25.45 -25 22.8 3.581 3.737 91.0 15.6 16.5 2003 09 18 05 24.04 -26 15.8 3.584 3.798 94.6 15.3 16.6 2003 09 23 05 22.11 -27 08.6 3.587 3.859 98.1 14.9 16.6 2003 09 28 05 19.62 -28 00.6 3.593 3.920 101.6 14.5 16.7 2003 10 03 05 16.60 -28 51.3 3.601 3.980 105.0 14.1 16.8 2003 10 08 05 13.04 -29 39.9 3.611 4.039 108.4 13.6 16.9 2003 10 13 05 08.98 -30 25.7 3.625 4.098 111.5 13.1 16.9 2003 10 18 05 04.43 -31 08.1 3.643 4.157 114.5 12.6 17.0 2003 10 23 04 59.43 -31 46.4 3.665 4.215 117.3 12.1 17.1 2003 10 28 04 54.04 -32 19.8 3.692 4.273 119.7 11.7 17.1 2003 11 02 04 48.32 -32 47.8 3.724 4.330 121.8 11.2 17.2 2003 11 07 04 42.35 -33 10.0 3.761 4.387 123.5 10.9 17.3 2003 11 12 04 36.22 -33 26.0 3.804 4.444 124.8 10.5 17.4 2003 11 17 04 30.02 -33 35.6 3.854 4.500 125.5 10.3 17.5 2003 11 22 04 23.83 -33 38.7 3.909 4.556 125.7 10.1 17.5 2003 11 27 04 17.74 -33 35.4 3.970 4.612 125.4 10.0 17.6 2003 12 02 04 11.84 -33 25.8 4.037 4.667 124.5 10.0 17.7 2003 12 07 04 06.22 -33 10.5 4.110 4.722 123.2 10.1 17.8 2003 12 12 04 00.92 -32 49.8 4.188 4.777 121.5 10.1 17.9 2003 12 17 03 56.01 -32 24.3 4.272 4.831 119.3 10.2 18.0 2003 12 22 03 51.52 -31 54.5 4.361 4.885 116.9 10.3 18.1 2003 12 27 03 47.48 -31 20.9 4.455 4.939 114.1 10.5 18.2 2004 01 01 03 43.91 -30 44.3 4.552 4.993 111.2 10.6 18.3 2004 01 06 03 40.83 -30 05.2 4.654 5.046 108.1 10.7 18.4 2004 01 11 03 38.21 -29 24.1 4.758 5.099 104.8 10.7 18.5 2004 01 16 03 36.06 -28 41.6 4.866 5.151 101.4 10.8 18.6 2004 01 21 03 34.36 -27 58.1 4.975 5.204 98.0 10.8 18.6 2004 01 26 03 33.09 -27 14.1 5.087 5.256 94.5 10.8 18.7 2004 01 31 03 32.24 -26 29.9 5.199 5.308 90.9 10.7 18.8 2004 02 05 03 31.77 -25 45.9 5.313 5.359 87.4 10.6 18.9 2004 02 10 03 31.66 -25 02.4 5.427 5.410 83.8 10.4 19.0 2004 02 15 03 31.89 -24 19.6 5.540 5.462 80.3 10.3 19.1 2004 02 20 03 32.43 -23 37.6 5.653 5.512 76.8 10.1 19.2 2004 02 25 03 33.27 -22 56.8 5.765 5.563 73.4 9.8 19.3 2004 03 01 03 34.36 -22 17.3 5.875 5.613 70.0 9.5 19.3 2004 03 06 03 35.69 -21 39.2 5.983 5.664 66.6 9.3 19.4 2004 03 11 03 37.24 -21 02.6 6.089 5.714 63.4 8.9 19.5 2004 03 16 03 38.99 -20 27.6 6.193 5.763 60.2 8.6 19.6 2004 03 21 03 40.92 -19 54.3 6.293 5.813 57.1 8.3 19.6 2004 03 26 03 43.00 -19 22.7 6.390 5.862 54.2 7.9 19.7 2004 03 31 03 45.22 -18 52.9 6.484 5.911 51.3 7.6 19.8 2004 04 05 03 47.57 -18 25.0 6.573 5.960 48.7 7.2 19.8
Many astronomers are convinced that early collisions between Earth and comets brought the vast amounts of water that now make up Earth's oceans. These oceans enabled life to get a foothold. On the flip side, the dinosaurs are certainly an example of how collisions between Earth and comets can also bring extinction to different lifeforms.
This would be an expedient method to get some water to the moon so the moon can be made inhabitable. Not a small project, still it would be more powerful than using rockets to carry water from the earth to the moon.
There would be inherent limitations in doing that since the moon is too small to hold an atmosphere and increasing the size of the moon appreciably would cause collateral changes on earth. Instead, a comet or some comets would be maneuvered to impact--as lightly as possible--the moon and the ice and carbon content would be put in storage. Much of the technology for capturing a comet would be similar to that used for asteroid mining.
Similar to the tech used to save earth from bombardment by killer asteroids, too.
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