Posted on 10/08/2022 3:04:59 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Heading for its closest approach to the Sun or perihelion on December 20, comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) remains a sight for telescopic observers as it sweeps through planet Earth's southern hemisphere skies. First time visitor from the remote Oort cloud this comet PanSTARRS sports a greenish coma and whitish dust tail about half a degree long at the upper left in a deep image from September 21. It also shares the starry field of view toward the constellation Scorpius with another comet, 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, seen about 1 degree below and right of PanSTARRS. Astronomers estimate that first time visitor comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) has been inbound from the Oort cloud for some 3 million years along a hyperbolic orbit. Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is more familiar though. The periodic comet loops through its own elliptical orbit, from just beyond the orbit of Jupiter to the vicinity of Earth's orbit, once every 5.4 years. Just passing in the night, this comet PanSTARRS is about 20 light-minutes from Earth in the September 21 image. Seen to be disintegrating since 1995, Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 was about 7.8 light-minutes away.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
Pretty cool.
https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-october
The Hunter’s Moon will reach peak illumination at 4:54 P.M. Eastern Time on Sunday, October 9. It will be below the horizon at this time, so we’ll have to wait until sunset to watch it rise and take its place in the sky. Like September’s Harvest Moon, the Hunter’s Moon rises around the same time for several nights in a row, so start looking for it on Saturday, October 8!
Hunter's Moon?
Does it require a 10% for the Big Guy moon.
HAH! This morning before daybreak, mrs. abb & I were doing our morning walk and caught the moon setting in the west. Spectacular.
I wonder how many comets are heading at earth?
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