巨石阵上空的NEOWISE彗星

2020年7月14日

Comet NEOWISE over Stonehenge
Image Credit & Copyright: Declan Deval

Explanation: Have you ever seen a comet? Tonight — and likely the next few nights — should be a good chance. Go outside just at sunset and look to your northwest. The lower your horizon, the better. Binoculars may help, but if your sky is cloudless and dark, all you should need is your unaided eyes and patience. As the Sun sets, the sky will darken, and there will be an unusual faint streak pointing diagonally near the horizon. That is Comet NEOWISE. It is a 5-kilometer-wide evaporating dirty iceberg visiting from — and returning to — the outer Solar System. As the Earth turns, the comet will soon set, so you might want to take a picture. In the featured image, Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was captured two mornings ago rising over Stonehenge in the UK. Discovered with the NASA satellite NEOWISE toward the end of March, Comet NEOWISE has surprised many by surviving its closest approach to the Sun, brightening dramatically, and developing impressive (blue) ion and (white) dust tails.

Notable Images of Comet NEOWISE Submitted to APOD: || July 13 || July 12 || July 11 || July 10 & earlier ||

Tomorrow’s picture: NEOWISE Night

巨石阵上空的NEOWISE彗星
影像提供与版权：Declan Deval

说明：看过彗星吗？大好机会就在今晚，或者接下来的数晚。请在刚日落后走出屋外，然后往西北方看。该方向的地平线越低平的地方，越有机会。透过双筒望远镜看或许较容易，不过如你所在之处清朗无云又幽暗，那你所需要的只是肉眼和一点耐心。等日落后，天空会逐渐变暗，然后试着找斜指向地平线的暗淡线形光痕，那就是NEOWISE彗星。它是一个来自太阳系外围不停蒸发中的5公里宽脏冰堡，目前正踏上归程。 不过随着地球自转，这颗彗星不久就会西沈，所以记得拍照留念。这幅主题影像里的NEOWISE彗星（C/2020 F3），是在2天前的清晨悬在英国. 巨石阵的上空。由美国航天总署NEOWISE巡天卫星在今年3月发现的NEOWISE彗星，出乎许多人的预期，在近距离掠过太阳后残存了下来，而且大幅增亮并发展出非常吸睛的离子尾（蓝）和尘埃（白）。

提交给APOD的NEOWISE彗星的著名图像：|| 7月13日 || 7月12日 || 7月11日 || 7月10日或更早 ||

明日的圖片：NEOWISE Night