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Comet ISON Brings Holiday Fireworks
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Caption:
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Superficially resembling a skyrocket, Comet ISON is hurtling toward the Sun at a whopping 48,000 miles per hour. Unlike a firework, the comet is not combusting, but in fact is pretty cold. Its skyrocket-looking tail is really a streamer of gas and dust bleeding off the icy nucleus. The video shows a sequence of Hubble observations taken over a 43-minute span, compressed into just five seconds. The comet travels 34,000 miles during the exposure sequence.
Cataloging Keywords:
| Name | Value | Additional Values |
|---|---|---|
| Target | C/2012 S1 (ISON) | |
| System | ||
| Target Type | Comet | |
| Mission | Hubble Space Telescope (HST) | |
| Instrument Host | Hubble Space Telescope | |
| Host Type | Space Telescope | |
| Instrument | ||
| Detector | ||
| Extra Keywords | Dust, Movie | |
| Acquisition Date | ||
| Release Date | 2013-07-02 | |
| Date in Caption | ||
| Image Credit | NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA | |
| Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17483 | |
| Identifier | PIA17483 | |
