APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
A Star Cluster Through Hale-Bopp's Tail
Explanation: Explanation : Comet Hale-Bopp continues to look impressive. The photograph above captured the comet on April 7 th passing nearly in front of M34 , a star cluster in the constellation of Perseus . Many of the stars in this open cluster can be seen through Comet Hale-Bopp 's white dust tail. The bright blue ion tail now shows several streams. Now receding from both the Sun and the Earth, Comet Hale-Bopp should still remain an impressive sight for weeks to come as it slowly fades.
| Date | April 16, 1997 |
|---|---|
| Credit |
A Star Cluster Through Hale-Bopp's Tail Credit and Copyright: A. Dimai, R. Volcan, D. Ghirardo (Col Druscie Obs., ACC) |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |