Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Dazzling Comet Garradd Has Close Encounter with Star Cluster

    By Tariq Malik, SPACE.com Managing Editor
    Space.com     | SPACE.com – Sat, 25 Feb, 2012

    A comet and a sparkly star cluster shined bright together this month in a space rendezvous captured by an astronomer in California.

    The cosmic close encounter featured the comet Garradd and bright globular star cluster M92. It was photographed by astronomer Conrad Jung with the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, Calif.

    Jung used a 5-inch refractor telescope to snap a 10-minute exposure of comet Garradd as it zipped close by M92 on Feb. 3. Both objects were in the constellation Hercules at the time.

    Jung's photo of comet Garrad and M92 covers an area of the sky just 1 degree across. Your closed fist held out at arm's length covers about 10 degrees of the night sky.

    While comet Garradd and star cluster appeared close to each other, it was only a trick of perspective. Star cluster M92 is actually about 27,000 light-years from Earth, while comet Garradd is currently zipping through our inner solar system. From Earth's vantage point, the two objects were just 0.5 degrees apart in the night sky on Feb. 3.

    "Comet Garradd is only a few light minutes away from Earth and travelling very fast," Chabot center officials wrote in a statement. "In the next month, Comet Garradd will be at its closest point to Earth and should be visible with binoculars or a small telescope near the cup of the Big Dipper."

    The comet will make its closest approach to Earth in March, when it will fly within 1.3 astronomical units of our planet, according to the skywatching website Spaceweather.com. One astronomical unit is the distance between the Earth and the sun, about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers).

    Comet Garradd is formally known as comet Garrad (C2009 P1) and was discovered on Aug. 13, 2009 by Australian astronomer G.J. Garradd. In November 2011, the comet provided skywatchers with a dazzling show  observers with small telescopes and binoculars.

    Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

    You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

    What do you feel about this article?

    Loading...
     

    16 comments

    • Mark
      Mark  •  Challis, United States  •  2 months ago
      I was crossing the street in a small town in Idaho the other day and narrowly missed being hit by a bus speeding through Istanbul!
      • edgeden
        edgeden 2 months ago
        i was thinking just that but that damm bus nearly got me in toronto
      • steelerman
        steelerman 2 months ago
        Thank god you guys had time to react.
    • catmandenny
      catmandenny  •  2 months ago
      Wow, they were only 27,000 light-years apart. That's pretty close!
      Oh wait, no it isn't. Who wrote this thing anyway?
      • Roy
        Roy 2 months ago
        I believe that was "27,000 light years" FROM Earth.
      • catmandenny
        catmandenny 2 months ago
        The comet is cruising through our solar system. Please read the fifth paragraph.
      • Clowns are Fun
        Clowns are Fun 2 months ago
        The article is referring to the fact that the two objects were in the same direction as seen from Earth, hence they appeared "close" to each other in the sky. The globular cluster just happened to be hundreds of billions of times further away than the comet. In astronomy this is referred to as a "conjunction" or "appulse". So there is nothing inherently inaccurate about the wording of the article.
    • Arbutus Dave
      Arbutus Dave  •  2 months ago
      Uhhhhhhhhh....... no.
    • steelerman
      steelerman  •  Miami, United States  •  2 months ago
      Cool, but not dazzling.
    • “Just Because”
      “Just Because”  •  2 months ago
      The comet doesn't have much of an ion tail if it's zipping through our inner solar system their is not much solar radiation pressure and solar wind on the coma. May be that will change when it comes closer to earth.
    • Roy
      Roy  •  New York, United States  •  2 months ago
      All negative comments and statements aside, I'd LOVE to see that comet myself!
    • Roy
      Roy  •  New York, United States  •  2 months ago
      Given those facts, a 5" refractor with a ten minute exposure....the comet cannot be all that bright or, least of all, "dazzling!" And it does NOT go "zipping" across the sky!
    • Dean
      Dean  •  Atlanta, United States  •  2 months ago
      The headline gives the impression that the comet is not in our solar system. the proper term for the event is a conjunction.
    • Roy
      Roy  •  New York, United States  •  2 months ago
      M92; I think the other cluster is...M13, also in Hercules.
    • Roy
      Roy  •  New York, United States  •  2 months ago
      I've seen several comets (including Halley), using an 8" reflector. But I have NEVER seen a comet BROADSIDE....,,the photo in this article is accurate, ie, almost head on. :-)
      • Silicon Cowboy
        Silicon Cowboy 2 months ago
        using an 8" reflector? way to go - best civilian gear. A friend had one, we had to use a moon filter, but saw other wonderful things. Not to one up you, a co-worker moved to Oregon - custom built house w/ retractable roof. I forget how big his scope was - but if you have to move the roof to deploy it - you get the idea.
    • Bill
      Bill  •  2 months ago
      Yeah, real "close" - "only" 26,000 light-years apart.
    • Thunderstud
      Thunderstud  •  2 months ago
      I feel dumber for clicking on this link. Thanks for the spectacular photo.
    • Roy
      Roy  •  New York, United States  •  2 months ago
      Interesting! OK, there are 2 (two) globular clusters in Hercules and this (M92) is one of them. This is the smaller of the two and I've seen both..
      • David
        David 2 months ago
        Actually there many more than two. It's just there are two bright ones including the famous M13.
    • catmandenny
      catmandenny  •  2 months ago
      My own fist could also be said to have a "close encounter with star cluster" as used in the headline if I could manage to get it in a picture with it. The comet is in our own solar system and 27,000 light-years from this cluster.
      By the way, I would say using the words "closer encounter" are being misused here. However, the picture of the comet is still pretty cool. I try to view them myself whenever they pass near enough to see them.
    • safeinthewoods
      safeinthewoods  •  2 months ago
      Dazzling ...
    • Joseph
      Joseph  •  2 months ago
      Geeks..alone at night, staring at the sky...wishing they too were getting laid..............
      • Timothy
        Timothy 2 months ago
        fool- this is what you do when you're done pounding the old lady.
      • james
        james 2 months ago
        Your education and IQ are on display for all the world to see. It's not a pretty sight.
      • steelerman
        steelerman 2 months ago
        I would prefer my daughter date a educated geek than an uneducated fool.
     Post a comment
    [ [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], '27013743', '0' ], [ [['keyword', 9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
    Search

    News for You

    • Australian tycoon 'is world's richest woman'
      Australian tycoon 'is world's richest woman'

      Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart has eclipsed Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton to become the world's wealthiest woman, according to an annual index by Business Review Weekly.

    • Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd Win Dancing With The Stars
      Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd Win Dancing With The Stars

      They called it "the most competitive season" ever on "Dancing with the Stars," but on Tuesday night, just one pair was good enough for Season 14 mirrorball glory.

    • Chinese couple bury woman alive, sparking outrage

      BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have arrested a young couple who buried an old woman alive believing she was dead after their car hit the 68-year-old, newspapers said on Thursday, in a case which has sparked outrage over declining public morality. The couple had been at an all-night karaoke session when they hit the woman while driving in the early hours of the morning in the wealthy eastern province of Zhejiang last month, the official China Daily said. "A witness said he heard someone crying …

    • US climber describes deadly congestion on Everest
      US climber describes deadly congestion on Everest

      An American adventurer who helped rescue four climbers from Mount Everest last weekend has told of how a crowded push for the summit and bad weather created deadly conditions for mountaineers.

    • American Idol Finale Recap: Phillip Phillips & Jessica Sanchez Battle It Out
      American Idol Finale Recap: Phillip Phillips & Jessica Sanchez Battle It Out

      "American Idol" returned to the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Tuesday as Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips battled it out for the title. The two contenders couldn't have been more different - Jessica Sanchez, the 16-year-old with the big, big voice, and Phillip Phillips, the 21-year-old bashful singer with a soulful edge. Here's how the finale went down:

    • Sharon Stone sued for harassment by former nanny
      Sharon Stone sued for harassment by former nanny

      LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Sharon Stone's basic instinct might be a little bit off - at least when it comes to how to treat the help. "Casino" actress Stone is being sued by a woman claiming to be her former nanny, who says that Stone made disparaging remarks about her ethnicity and religious beliefs, and illegally fired her for receiving rightfully obtained overtime pay. Erlinda T. Elemen claims that she began working for Stone in October 2006, and was promoted to head nanny of the actress' three …

    • Pakistan acid women fear backlash over Oscar film
      Pakistan acid women fear backlash over Oscar film

      Survivors of acid attacks whose plight became the focus of an Oscar-winning documentary now fear ostracism and reprisals if the film is broadcast in Pakistan.