Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                               2019 February 19
                 Comet Iwamoto Before Spiral Galaxy NGC 2903
                  Video Credit & Copyright: Norbert Span [2]

Explanation: It isn't every night that a comet passes a galaxy. Last Thursday,
though, binocular comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) [3]  moved nearly in front of a
spiral galaxy of approximately the same brightness: NGC 2903 [4] . Comet
Iwamoto [5]  was discovered late last year and orbits the Sun [6]  in a long
ellipse [7] . It last visited the inner Solar System during the Middle Ages
[8] , around the year 648. The comet [9]  reached its closest point to the Sun
-- between Earth and Mars -- on February 6, and its closest point to Earth
[10] a few days ago, on February 13. The featured time-lapse video [11]
condenses almost three hours into about ten seconds, and was captured last
week from Switzerland [12] . At that time Comet Iwamoto [13] , sporting a
green coma [14] , was about 10 light minutes distant, while spiral galaxy NGC
2903 [15] remained about 30 million light years [16]  away. Two satellites zip
diagonally through the field about a third of the way through the video.
Typically, a few comets [17]  each year become as bright as Comet Iwamoto [18]
.

                     Tomorrow's picture: a dangerous star

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
< [19] | Archive [20] | Submissions [21] | Index [22] | Search [23] | Calendar
  [24] | RSS [25] | Education [26] | About APOD [27] | Discuss [28] | > [29]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [30] (MTU [31] ) & Jerry Bonnell [32]
                                  (UMCP [33] )
          NASA Official:  Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [34] .
              NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices [35]
              A service of: ASD [36]  at NASA [37]  / GSFC [38]
                           & Michigan Tech. U. [39]
----------
Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] https://www.facebook.com/norbert.span.1
  [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2018_Y1_(Iwam...
  [4] ap150410.html
  [5]
https://www.universetoday.com/141385/comet-y1...
  [6] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun...
  [7] https://www.intmath.com/plane-analytic-geomet...
  [8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages
  [9] https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/c-2...
  [10] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/in...
  [11] https://www.facebook.com/norbert.span.1/posts...
  [12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland
  [13] ap190209.html
  [14] ap160605.html
  [15] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2903
  [16] https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/
  [17] ap170923.html
  [18]
https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/com...
  [19] ap190218.html
  [20] archivepix.html
  [21] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [22] lib/aptree.html
  [23] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apo...
  [24] calendar/allyears.html
  [25] /apod.rss
  [26] lib/edlinks.html
  [27] lib/about_apod.html
  [28] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?dat...
  [29] ap190220.html
  [30] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [31] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [32] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnel...
  [33] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [34] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [35] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Priv...
  [36] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [37] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [38] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [39] http://www.mtu.edu/

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A43 (Windows/32)
 * Origin: FIDONet - The Positronium Repository (1:393/68)