Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE was thebrightest comet visiblein the Northern Hemisphere in 23 age , an exciting lot for astrophiles , professional astronomers , and astrophotographers likewise . In August , theHubble Space Telescopetook the closest image yet of the comet after it passed by the Sun , and it ’s beautiful .
Comets are made of ice so when they approach a star , the intensity level of its light heats them up . The airfoil of these quick-frozen consistence sublimates , and the gases and debris particles released spring a dusty standard pressure or " comatoseness " around the core and a long tail that extend aside from the Sun . Encounters with the Sun can easily break comets asunder , which come about toComet ATLASand even interstellarComet Borisovthis class .
Thanks to Hubble ’s observance , this does n’t seem to be the display case with Comet NEOWISE . The space telescope see two potent jets of material burst from the small nucleus , suggest that the 4.5 - km ( 2.8 - mi ) central body stayed intact .
The effect of the comet is too pocket-size to see in this Hubble image . The heating system of the Sun released the frozen gas , and the gyration of the nucleus work the fountain into this challenging devotee shape . What we are seeing span an area 18,000 klick ( 11,200 miles ) across , where the activity of the comet is at its most intense .
The two images in this video were take three hours apart on 6 January 2025 and feature the comet ’s prominent jets that are emerge from the karyon . NASA , ESA , Q. Zhang ( California Institute of Technology ) , A. Pagan ( STScI ) , and M. Kornmesse
Hubble will continue to observe Comet NEOWISE and value its properties . stargazer are interested in knowing how it will shift as it moves further aside from the Sun . The color of the comet will be a particular interesting litmus examination , as it is linked to the chemical substance species release from the nucleus .
However , these will be among the last images of comet NEOWISE that humankind will have for a while . The comet is on its way back out to the boundary of the Solar System and despite impress at 60 km ( 37 knot ) per second , it wo n’t come back near us for another 7,000 eld .
