PIA01289: Hubble Images of Comet Hale-Bopp


Hubble Images of Comet Hale-Bopp

Caption:

This is a series of Hubble Space Telescope observations of the region around the nucleus of Hale-Bopp, taken on eight different dates since September 1995. They chronicle changes in the evolution of the nucleus as it moves ever closer to, and is warmed by, the sun.

The first picture in the sequence, seen at upper left shows a strong dust outburst on the comet that occurred when it was beyond the orbit of Jupiter. Images in the Fall of 1996 show multiple jets that are presumably connected to the activation of multiple vents on the surface of the nucleus.

In these false color images, taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, the faintest regions are black, the brightest regions are white, and intermediate intensities are represented by different levels of red. All images are processed at the same spatial scale of 280 miles per pixel (470 kilometers), so the solid nucleus, no larger than 25 miles across, is far below Hubble's resolution.

Background Info:

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/ .

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)
System
Target Type Comet
Mission Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Instrument Host Hubble Space Telescope
Host Type Space Telescope
Instrument
Detector
Extra Keywords Color, Dust, Infrared, Visual
Acquisition Date
Release Date 1998-08-02
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL/STScI
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01289
Identifier PIA01289