« The Clinton Challenge | Main | Colts Return to Miami . . . Scene of Super Bowls Past »
January 21, 2007
The Universe Is Sometimes A Beautiful Place.
Posted by Eric at January 21, 2007 4:51 PM
Comments
I hate to say it, but I'm suspicious. The tail of a comet is formed directly opposite the comet's path to or from the Sun. I'm not sure the curving diaphanous tail in the photo is legit. But, then, I'm no astronomer.
Posted by: billg at January 21, 2007 10:49 PM
The ion tail points directly away from the sun, but the dust tail reacts differently. In this case, McNaught's tail is reminding alot of people of 1976's Coment West.
Do a search and you'll discover a lot of photos of McNaught that are similar to the one that Eric linked. It displayed a spectacular tail, at least for those in the southern hemisphere.
Posted by: Todd at January 22, 2007 5:50 PM
I hate to say this, but if billg is who I think it is, he's got a LOT of knowledge in the field and his suspicions are worth listening to.
But they are BOTH great photos ;-)
Posted by: John at January 22, 2007 8:49 PM