Copyright:
José J. Chambó;
Text:
Cecilia Chirenti
(NASA
GSFC,
UMCP,
CRESST II)
中文翻譯:
在我們的太陽系中，有些彗星經常來訪，而另一些則只來一次，之後就不再回來。像彗星C/2024 E1（Wierzchoś）這樣的彗星，我們不會再有機會見到它。它現在正朝著太陽系的內部移動，其彗星的超拋物線軌道表示它可能會成為星際旅行者。彗星Wierzchoś目前正在接近地球，與地球的距離與太陽差不多。最近，在智利拍攝的這幅30分鐘曝光的照片中，展示了它5度長的離子尾和三條較短的塵埃尾。模糊的綠色來自陽光下二碳分子的分解，但這個過程不會持續足夠長的時間以染上尾巴的顏色。照片的最右側是一個遠在遙遠的地方的螺旋星系：NGC 300。
原文:
Some comets are regular guests of our solar neighborhood; others come by only once, never to return. We won’t have another chance to see Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś), which is currently making its way through the inner Solar System. The hyperbolic orbit of this comet indicates that it will likely become an interstellar traveler. Comet Wierzchoś is today near its closest approach to the Earth, passing roughly the same distance from the Earth as is the Sun. The featured 30-minute exposure was taken last week in Chile and shows a 5-degree long ion tail as well as three shorter dust tails. The green hue of the coma comes from the breakdown of dicarbon molecules by sunlight, but that process does not last long enough to also tinge the tails. On the far right lies a spiral galaxy far in the distance: NGC 300.
來源:NASA每日圖片
