NASA's telescope photographed the brightest comet of 2018

Comet core hidden in the center of the comet fuzzy comet / photo NASA, ESA, D. Bodewits (Auburn University) and J.-Y. Li (Institute of Planetary Science)

Comet The 46P / Wirtanen s & # 39; is approaching the Earth on December 16, at a distance of nearly 12 million kilometers – 30 times longer than the Moon. Despite its status as the brightest comet in 2018, the 46P is barely noticeable to the naked eye, so many scientists have been assisted by several telescopes. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope photographed comet 46P / Wirtanen on December 13, when it was about 12 million kilometers long. Earth, Naked Science Goes

In this image, the nucleus of the comet is hidden in the center of the comet's fuzzy comet, a coma is a cloud of gas and dust that a comet ejects when it's in motion. it crosses the inner solar system by heating the sun, creating a composite image. The color was applied to the high resolution images received from the WFC3 spacecraft.

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Inside of coma generally unavailable and for the view of the Earth , and only a close flying comet 46P allowed astronomers to study it in detail. As a result of observations, astronomers concluded that the comet's internal coma had a diffuse and slightly asymmetrical structure, while its outer part was too compartmentalized, making it unsuitable for detailed observations.

The NASA Observatory of Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) makes a snapshot of the comet on December 16 and 17, flying at an altitude of 12 kilometers. Since comets and asteroids can be a source of water, the goal of the station is to study the chemical fingerprints of various types of hydrogen in the water of the comet, which helps scientists to know the water. origin and history of the solar system's water, including the Earth's oceans. The SOFIA image was obtained using the visible light camera of a telescope with the help of the orange filter to show the intensity of the light compared to other objects .

A snapshot of comet SOFIA made December 16 and 17 16-17 December / photo NASA / SOFIA

Amateur astronomers can also find a comet in the starry sky: it is now near the constellation Taurus, although the additional light of the exit The Comet 46P / Wirtanen goes around the sun every 5.4 years, which is a lot faster than Halley's famous comet, but most of it echoes inside. The solar system is much farther from Earth, which highlights the case observed this year.