Posted on 01/28/2025 11:48:08 AM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: Comets can be huge. When far from the Sun, a comet's size usually refers to its hard nucleus of ice and rock, which typically spans a few kilometers -- smaller than even a small moon. When nearing the Sun, however, this nucleus can eject dust and gas and leave a thin tail that can spread to an enormous length -- even greater than the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Pictured, C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) sports a tail of sunlight-reflecting dust and glowing gas that spans several times the apparent size of a full moon, appearing even larger on long duration camera images than to the unaided eye. The featured image shows impressive Comet ATLAS over trees and a grass field in Sierras de Mahoma, San Jose, Uruguay about a week ago. After being prominent in the sunset skies of Earth's southern hemisphere, Comet G3 ATLAS is now fading as it moves away from the Sun, making its impressive tails increasingly hard to see.
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.
Why can’t we ever get great views like these?...............
🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔
I think we do, but what you see in a photo is not the same as what you see with the naked eye. A camera — especially one with a long exposure time — can pick up much better detail than the eye can.
That's an awful name. Rename it The Comet of America.
Hale-Bopp back in 1997 was pretty spectacular and stayed visible a long time. Being a good photographer/photo editor helps too.
Wow.
Awesome!😮🙂
Sierras de Mahoma in Uruguay is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. No accompanying light pollution.
Come to think of it, most of UY is out in the middle of nowhere. < |:)~
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.