Posted on 08/24/2026 4:42:29 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Comet 220P is unexpectedly bright. Normally, periodic Comet 220P/McNaught is so dim that to see it requires a telescope. Two surprising outbursts this year, however, have made it about 20,000 times brighter than usual, so that it is now visible with binoculars and long-duration camera exposures. As expected, Comet 220P continues to orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter with a period of over 5 years. The featured long duration exposure, taken 10 days ago from South Africa, shows the comet's bright green head and short dust tail. Reasons for Comet 220P's impressive outbursts are unknown but could be caused by the release of built-up subsurface gas or comet quakes. Comet 220P will pass about one Earth-Sun distance from the Earth in October, after which it is expected to fade quickly as it begins its return to the far part of its orbit.
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
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.
🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔
I was starting to worry about you. Glad you made it. Be well.
Cool! It looks like a cosmic blowtorch.
Wow.
A green jet on afterburner going to get a cheeseburger.
Using data from the Zwicky Transient Facility, he noted the comet brightened by about 7 magnitudes (from roughly magnitude 18 to 11), more than a 600-fold increase in brightness. The outburst occurred within a 13 hours and 32 minutes window between May 30 at 14:05 and May 31 at 03:37 UTC.[12] Other observations reported the comet reached a peak magnitude of 8.2, which would represent up to an 8,000-fold increase in brightness. - WikipediaStill not visible to the unaided human eye!
Regards,
Afterburner kicked in...............
The problem with these new hi res cameras is they look so good that cosmic images look almost touched up or fake
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.