March 6, 2003
You were not dropped into the cosmos as a stranger. You came from it entirely: borrowed from stars, carried by Earth, warmed by the Sun, and...
Comet NEAT in Southern Skies
Birthday · March 6, 2003
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APOD published March 6, 2003. Credit: Noel Munford (Palmerston North Astronomical Society, New Zealand). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
After last month's dramatic swoop past the Sun, Comet NEAT (C/2002 V1) appeared as a naked-eye comet, emerging from the evening twilight in planet Earth's southern skies. On March 1st, New Zealand photographer Noel Munford captured this telephoto view of the outbound comet close to the southwestern horizon against the faint stars of the constellation Sculptor. He reports that the picture is a good representation of the comet's visual appearance on that date and estimates the impressive tail to be five or six degrees long. Discovered last November as part of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program, there was some speculation that this comet would not survive its close encounter with the Sun. However, Comet NEAT is now returning to the outer solar system, diving southward and fading fast.
Image credit: Noel Munford (Palmerston North Astronomical Society, New Zealand)