Comet Lovejoy Crossing the Ecliptic
Taken by Alan Dyer on January 16, 2015 @
City of Rocks State Park, NM
Click photo for larger image
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Camera Used: Unavailable Unavailable
Exposure Time: Unavailable
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Date Taken: 2015:01:17 10:14:22
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Details:
Here are new versions of shots from last night, Jan 16, the night Comet Lovejoy was crossing the ecliptic plane as it heads north along its orbit, which is more or less perpendicular to the ecliptic. Its position last night placed it at the apex of the Zodiacal Light, with its ion tail pointed along the Zodiacal Light and away from the Sun, which is below the horizon below the base of the Zodiacal Light.
That's exactly as it should be, as a comet's ion gas tail always points directly away from the Sun, blown by the solar wind. The Zodiacal Light is from comet dust in the inner solar system, and itself lies along the ecliptic. The planets also lie along the ecliptic, and one shot includes Venus and Mars. I've included labeled versions as well.
Also in the field at centre of the larger image is a short streak of a meteor, apparently shooting toward the Sun as well, though its trail seems to be cut off sharply at the end at right, perhaps due to the shutter closing just as it appeared.
So the images record a busy sky, filled with comets, comet dust, a meteor, and planets.
The smaller image is a single 1-minute exposure; the larger image is a mosaic of 3 images, stitched with PTGui software.
Photographer's website:
http://www.amazingsky.net
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