A beautiful blue ion tail has become visible in deep telescopic images of Comet Holmes [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Pointing generally away from the Sun and also planet Earth, the comet's ion tail [
http://www.ifa.hawa…] is seriously foreshortened [
http://en.wikipedia…Perspective_(graphic al)#Foreshortening ] by our extreme viewing angle. Still, enthusiastic [
http://spaceweather…gallery_holmes_page1 2.htm ] comet watchers have remarked that on the whole, the compact but tentacled appearance suggests a jellyfish or even a cosmic calamari [
http://en.wikipedia…]. This stunning view [
http://eder.csillag…17P_Holmes_20071104_ eder_en.htm ] of the comet's greenish coma and blue tail was recorded on November 4 in clear skies near Budapest, Hungary. The colors are caused by molecules in [
http://www.spacewea…John-Cordiale1.jpg ] the tenuous gas, like C2 (green) and CO (blue), fluorescing [
http://www.ifa.hawa…spectral-excitation. html ] in sunlight. In a more recent development, the dramatic inset is a deep image from L'Aquila in central Italy on November 8, showing the ion tail disconnecting [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] from the comet.
Explanation
A beautiful blue ion tail has become visible in deep telescopic images of Comet Holmes [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Pointing generally away from the Sun and also planet Earth, the comet's ion tail [
http://www.ifa.hawa…] is seriously foreshortened [
http://en.wikipedia…Perspective_(graphic al)#Foreshortening ] by our extreme viewing angle. Still, enthusiastic [
http://spaceweather…gallery_holmes_page1 2.htm ] comet watchers have remarked that on the whole, the compact but tentacled appearance suggests a jellyfish or even a cosmic calamari [
http://en.wikipedia…]. This stunning view [
http://eder.csillag…17P_Holmes_20071104_ eder_en.htm ] of the comet's greenish coma and blue tail was recorded on November 4 in clear skies near Budapest, Hungary. The colors are caused by molecules in [
http://www.spacewea…John-Cordiale1.jpg ] the tenuous gas, like C2 (green) and CO (blue), fluorescing [
http://www.ifa.hawa…spectral-excitation. html ] in sunlight. In a more recent development, the dramatic inset is a deep image from L'Aquila in central Italy on November 8, showing the ion tail disconnecting [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] from the comet.
Explanation
