December 16, 2018
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us, and yet here you are — a collection of atoms that somehow learned to think, to...
Comet Wirtanen Passes by the Earth
Birthday · December 16, 2018
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APOD published December 16, 2018. Credit: Ruslan Merzlyakov (RMS Photography). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Today Comet Wirtanen passes by the Earth. The kilometer-sized dirty snowball orbits the Sun every 5.4 years, ranging as far out as Jupiter and as close in as the Earth. Today Comet 46P/Wirtanen passes within only 31 lunar distances to the Earth, the closest approach in 70 years. If you know where to look (Taurus), you can see the comet through binoculars as an unusual blue smudge. Pictured a week ago, Comet Wirtanen was photographed in the sky beyond an old abandoned church in Skagen, Denmark. The image composite also captures the astrophotographer. After today, the comet will begin to fade as it recedes from the Earth and the Sun. Free Download: 2019 APOD Calendar (v5)
Image credit: Ruslan Merzlyakov (RMS Photography)