File:"April Fool’s Day" comet to pass by Earth (33393626000).jpg

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Original file(1,290 × 858 pixels, file size: 371 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Captions

Captions

Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents

Summary[edit]

Description

On April 1, 2017, comet 41P will pass closer than it normally does to Earth, giving observers with binoculars or a telescope a special viewing opportunity. Comet hunters in the Northern Hemisphere should look for it near the constellations Draco and Ursa Major, which the Big Dipper is part of.

Whether a comet will put on a good show for observers is notoriously difficult to predict, but 41P has a history of outbursts, and put on quite a display in 1973. If the comet experiences similar outbursts this time, there’s a chance it could become bright enough to see with the naked eye. The comet is expected to reach perihelion, or its closest approach to the sun, on April 12.

A member of the Jupiter family of comets, 41P makes a trip around the sun every 5.4 years, coming relatively close to Earth on some of those trips. On this approach, the comet will pass our planet at a distance of about 13 million miles (0.14 astronomical units), or about 55 times the distance from Earth to the moon. This is the comet’s closest approach to Earth in more than 50 years and perhaps more than a century.

Read more: <a href="https://go.nasa.gov/2nLNzes" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2nLNzes</a>

Photo caption: In this image taken March 24, 2017, comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák is shown moving through a field of faint galaxies in the bowl of the Big Dipper. On April 1, the comet will pass by Earth at a distance of about 13 million miles (0.14 astronomical units), or 55 times the distance from Earth to the moon; that is a much closer approach than usual for this Jupiter-family comet.

Photo credit: Image copyright Chris Schur©, used with permission

NASA image use policy

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

Follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a>

Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a>

Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>
Date
Source "April Fool’s Day" comet to pass by Earth
Author NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA

Licensing[edit]

w:en:Creative Commons
attribution
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
You are free:
  • to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
  • attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
This image was originally posted to Flickr by NASA Goddard Photo and Video at https://flickr.com/photos/24662369@N07/33393626000 (archive). It was reviewed on 12 May 2018 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

12 May 2018

Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
Warnings:

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current00:02, 12 May 2018Thumbnail for version as of 00:02, 12 May 20181,290 × 858 (371 KB)OceanAtoll (talk | contribs)Transferred from Flickr via #flickr2commons

There are no pages that use this file.

Metadata