Comet Hale-Bopp. Optical image of comet Hale-Bopp as it passes through the constellation of Perseus,showing its gas and dust tails. Hale-Bopp was one of the brightest comets of the 20th century. Its gas or "ion" tail (blue) consists of ionised glowing gas blown away from the comet head by the solar wind. The dust tail (white) consists of grains of dust pushed away from the comet head by the radiation of sunlight. Comets have a nucleus of ice and dust. As they approach the Sun their surface evaporates,releasing a tail millions of kilometres long. Comet Hale-Bopp was discovered on 23 June 1995 and appeared brightest from Earth during early 1997 | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / Espenak, Dr. Fred |
Taille de l’image : | 4181 px × 2955 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |