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Collection:
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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Collection
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Comet Ikeya-Zhang
Title
Comet Ikeya-Zhang
Title
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Explanation:
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Comet Ikeya-Zhang [ http://cometography…] is presently heading north in planet Earth's sky [ http://encke.jpl.na…c2002c1chart.jpg ], framed by stars of the constellation Cetus. The comet was discovered [ http://cfa-www.harv…07812.html ] as a faint, telescopic object [ http://encke.jpl.na…] near the western horizon on the evening of February 1st independently by Kaoru Ikeya [ http://comets.amsme…lcomets/1965s1.html ] of Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, Daqing Zhang in Henan province, China, and later by [ http://cfa-www.harv…] observer Paulo Raymundo of Salvador, Brazil. But Ikeya-Zhang [ http://skyandtelesc…article_477_1.asp ] is expected to brighten significantly and in March and April could become visible to the unaided eye. This picture, taken near Tucson, Arizona, USA on the evening of February 9th, covers a field a bit less than the width of the full moon showing the comet's [ http://encke.jpl.na…] condensed coma [ http://www.ifa.hawa…coma.html ] and narrow, developing tail [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Ikeya-Zhang should pass closest to the Sun (perihelion) on March 18 at a point roughly midway [ http://encke.jpl.na…ikeyaorbit.jpg ] between the orbits of Mercury and Venus. Based on preliminary calculations of this comet's orbit, Ikeya-Zhang [ http://cfa-www.harv…2002C1.html ] is suspected of being a periodic comet, returning to the inner Solar System every 500 years or so. In fact, it is "speculated" that Ikeya-Zhang may be directly connected with a historic bright comet [ http://ssd.jpl.nasa…] seen in 1532.
Explanation
Comet Ikeya-Zhang [ http://cometography…] is presently heading north in planet Earth's sky [ http://encke.jpl.na…c2002c1chart.jpg ], framed by stars of the constellation Cetus. The comet was discovered [ http://cfa-www.harv…07812.html ] as a faint, telescopic object [ http://encke.jpl.na…] near the western horizon on the evening of February 1st independently by Kaoru Ikeya [ http://comets.amsme…lcomets/1965s1.html ] of Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, Daqing Zhang in Henan province, China, and later by [ http://cfa-www.harv…] observer Paulo Raymundo of Salvador, Brazil. But Ikeya-Zhang [ http://skyandtelesc…article_477_1.asp ] is expected to brighten significantly and in March and April could become visible to the unaided eye. This picture, taken near Tucson, Arizona, USA on the evening of February 9th, covers a field a bit less than the width of the full moon showing the comet's [ http://encke.jpl.na…] condensed coma [ http://www.ifa.hawa…coma.html ] and narrow, developing tail [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Ikeya-Zhang should pass closest to the Sun (perihelion) on March 18 at a point roughly midway [ http://encke.jpl.na…ikeyaorbit.jpg ] between the orbits of Mercury and Venus. Based on preliminary calculations of this comet's orbit, Ikeya-Zhang [ http://cfa-www.harv…2002C1.html ] is suspected of being a periodic comet, returning to the inner Solar System every 500 years or so. In fact, it is "speculated" that Ikeya-Zhang may be directly connected with a historic bright comet [ http://ssd.jpl.nasa…] seen in 1532. Explanation
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Credit and Copyright:
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Andrew Cooper [ mailto:acooper@pobox .com ]
Credit_and_Copyright
Andrew Cooper [ mailto:acooper@pobox .com ]
Credit and Copyright
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keyword:
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comet
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keyword:
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c/2002c1
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keyword:
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ikeya-zhang
keyword
ikeya-zhang
keyword
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facet_when:
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1532
facet_when
1532
facet_when
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facet_where:
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Arizona
facet_where
Arizona
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Mercury
facet_where
Mercury
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Hawaii
facet_where
Hawaii
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Venus
facet_where
Venus
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Japan
facet_where
Japan
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Brazil
facet_where
Brazil
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Salvador
facet_where
Salvador
facet_where
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facet_where:
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China
facet_where
China
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_what:
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Earth
facet_what
Earth
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Moon
facet_what
Moon
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mercury
facet_what
Mercury
facet_what
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facet_what:
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COMETS
facet_what
COMETS
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Venus
facet_what
Venus
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Cetus
facet_what
Cetus
facet_what
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facet_what:
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comet
facet_what
comet
facet_what
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facet_when_year:
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1532
facet_when_year
1532
facet_when_year
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original url:
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original_url
original url
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UID:
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SPD-APOD-ap020221
UID
SPD-APOD-ap020221
UID
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