Astronomy Picture of the Day: 12/10/13 - Comet Garradd

This is the comet Garradd, pictured as it appeared while in the sky within 0.5 degrees of M92 (the bright star cluster to the left of the comet) on February 3rd, 2012. The comet is currently more than 12.5 light-minutes from Earth.

One of the first things you’ll notice about this particular image is that the comet appears to have two tails. As comets get near the sun, the solar energy heats it up and the comet loses small amounts of matter, creating the iconic comet tail. Solar winds then blow the particulate matter in the direction facing away from the Sun, resulting in gas particles moving effortlessly, whereas rock particles tend to linger behind. All of this give way to the illusion of two tails.

For References, see: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-picture-of-the-day-121013-comet-garradd/

Image Credit: Rolando Ligustri (CARA Project, CAST)

Comet ISON now Visible to the Naked Human Eye:

Comet ISON is currently making its way across our solar system; it is hurtling towards the Sun at over 130,000 mph (215,000 kmh). And it just became a naked eye object (meaning that you can see it without the aid of binoculars or other instruments). So tomorrow morning, provided that you have clear skies in your area, some of you will be able to see Comet ISON low on the eastern horizon before sunrise. Of course, unless you really know what you are looking for, it might be a good idea to bring along a pair of binoculars, as the comet is still a bit hard to see with the untrained eye. The human eye can perceive objects that are as faint as +6.5 (the lower the number, the easier the object is to see). ISON just reached a magnitude of +5.4.
This chunk of ice and rock has spent more than 4 billion years in the Oort cloud (the frozen depth of space that is home to many of our solar system’s comets). After billions of years, this amazing object is finally visible. Most people in the Northern Hemisphere will be able to easily see it; however, it is extremely difficult to see from the Southern hemisphere because it is so close to the horizon.

To find out how to see it, visit:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/comet-ison-now-visible-to-the-naked-human-eye/

Image source:
http://www.caelumobservatory.com/gallery/ison_10082013.shtml