Comet Leonard and the Whale Galaxy

Discover the universe! Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by an astronomer.

December 3, 2021.
See the explanation. Clicking on the picture will bring you to the download page.
The highest resolution version is available.

Leonard and the Whale.
The image is copyrighted by Gregg Ruppel.

On November 24th, the comet Leonard was caught between two galaxies in this telescopic image. The comet's dusty tail seems to be harpooning the heart of the WhaleGalaxy. The Hockey Stick is a background galaxies some 25 million light-years away. The comet was close to our planet. The closest approach to Earth is still to come, and it will be brighter in December. This comet will likely not return to the inner Solar System, which is a good object for binoculars and small telescopes. The closest approach to the Sun will be on January 3, 2022.

Tomorrow's picture is light-weekend.

Robert Nemiroff is an author and Jerry Bonnell is an editor.
Phillip Newman has specific rights.
NASA has a privacy policy on the internet.
There is a service at NASA.
& Michigan Tech. U.

Page 2

Discover the universe! Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by an astronomer.

December 4th, 2021.
See the explanation. Clicking on the picture will bring you to the download page.
The highest resolution version is available.

Iridescent is a song by Moonlight.
The image is copyrighted by Marcella Giulia Pace.

The Full Moon was not far away from Earth's shadow. Skies over Sicily were dominated by passing clouds. The full moon was partially obscured by small but similar sized water droplets near the edges of the high thin clouds. The iridescence is like a lunar corona. The Full Moon was seen close to the star cluster at the lower left of the cloud bank. The stars of the Seven Sisters were about to share the sky with a red disk.

The picture is comet by eye.

Robert Nemiroff is an author and Jerry Bonnell is an editor.
Phillip Newman has specific rights.
NASA has a privacy policy on the internet.
There is a service at NASA.
& Michigan Tech. U.