This page describes an image Halley's Comet
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Image caption:
Halley’s Comet, is a well-known periodic comet, named after the English astronomer Edmond Halley. It has an orbital period of approximately 75 years and is visible from Earth with the naked eye when it passes through the inner solar system.
The image shows Halley’s Comet, officially designated 1P/Halley, with a tail of gas and dust streaming away from the Sun. It was taken from the La-Silla-Observatory in Chile in 1986 during Halley's Comet's last visit to the inner solar system. The stars in this image appear elongated or as lines of three different colored dots as image was created from three separate observations in different colors of light and the telescope was tracking the comet, which was moving very slightly compared to the background stars. Note that the comets tail does not point in exactly the same direction as the elongation of the stars. This shows us that the comet tail is not always behind the comet, but instead pointing away from the Sun.
The comet passes its perihelion (closest distance to the Sun) at a distance of around 0.59 astronomical units, right between the orbits of Mercury and Venus. Beyond Neptune, it reaches its aphelion (furthest distance from the Sun) at a distance of approximately 35 astronomical units. Halley's Comet reached aphelion in December 2023 and is now moving inwards again. It is expected to be seen with the naked eye from Earth again in mid-2061.
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Image credit: ESO Credit Link
Related glossary terms:
Aphelion
, Comet
, Cometary Tail
, Halley's Comet
, Perihelion
Image license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
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Captions in Different Languages:
Image caption: Der Halley'sche Komet ist ein bekannter periodischer Komet, benannt nach dem englischen Astronomen Edmond Halley. Er hat eine Umlaufzeit von etwa 75 Jahren und ist von der Erde aus mit bloßem Auge sichtbar, wenn er das innere Sonnensystem durchquert.
Das Bild zeigt den Halleyschen Kometen, offiziell als 1P/Halley bezeichnet, mit einem Schweif aus Gas und Staub, der sich von der Sonne entfernt. Es wurde 1986 vom La-Silla-Observatorium in Chile während des letzten Besuchs des Halley'schen Kometen im inneren Sonnensystem aufgenommen. Die Sterne auf diesem Bild erscheinen länglich oder als Linien aus drei verschiedenfarbigen Punkten, da das Bild aus drei separaten Beobachtungen in verschiedenen Lichtfarben erstellt wurde und das Teleskop den Kometen verfolgte, der sich im Vergleich zu den Hintergrundsternen nur sehr leicht bewegte. Beachten Sie, dass der Kometenschweif nicht genau in die gleiche Richtung zeigt wie die Verlängerung der Sterne. Dies zeigt uns, dass der Kometenschweif nicht immer hinter dem Kometen liegt, sondern von der Sonne weg zeigt.
Der Komet durchläuft sein Perihel (den geringsten Abstand zur Sonne) in einer Entfernung von etwa 0,59 Astronomischen Einheiten, genau zwischen den Bahnen von Merkur und Venus. Hinter Neptun erreicht er sein Aphel (die größte Entfernung von der Sonne) in einer Entfernung von etwa 35 Astronomischen Einheiten. Der Halley'sche Komet erreichte sein Aphel im Dezember 2023 und bewegt sich nun wieder nach innen. Er wird voraussichtlich Mitte 2061 von der Erde aus wieder mit bloßem Auge zu sehen sein.
Image credit: ESO
Related glossary terms: Aphel , Halleyscher Komet , Komet , Kometenschweif , Perihel Caption translation status: Not yet approved by a reviewer
Caption translators: Emma Krojanski
Image caption: La Cometa di Halley è una nota cometa periodica che prende il nome dall'astronomo inglese Edmond Halley. Ha un periodo orbitale di circa 75 anni ed è visibile dalla Terra a occhio nudo quando attraversa il sistema solare interno.
L'immagine mostra la Cometa di Halley, ufficialmente designata 1P/Halley, con una coda di gas e polvere che si allontana dal Sole. È stata scattata dall'Osservatorio di La-Silla in Cile nel 1986, durante l'ultima visita della cometa di Halley al sistema solare interno. Le stelle in questa immagine appaiono allungate, o come linee di tre punti di colore diverso, poiché l'immagine è stata creata da tre osservazioni separate in diversi colori di luce e il telescopio stava seguendo la cometa, che si muoveva molto leggermente rispetto alle stelle nello sfondo. Si noti che la coda della cometa non punta esattamente nella stessa direzione dell'allungamento delle stelle. Ciò dimostra che la coda della cometa non è sempre dietro la cometa, ma punta lontano dal Sole.
La cometa attraversa il suo perielio (distanza massima dal Sole) a una distanza di circa 0,59 unità astronomiche, proprio tra le orbite di Mercurio e Venere. Oltre Nettuno, raggiunge il suo afelio (distanza massima dal Sole) a una distanza di circa 35 unità astronomiche. La Cometa di Halley ha raggiunto l'afelio nel dicembre 2023 e ora si sta spostando nuovamente verso l'interno. Si prevede che sarà nuovamente visibile a occhio nudo dalla Terra a metà del 2061.
Image credit: ESO
Related glossary terms: Afelio , Coda cometaria , Cometa , La cometa di Halley , Perielio Caption translation status: Approved by a reviewer
Caption translators: Giuliana Giobbi
Caption reviewers: Andrea Cittadini Bellini
