Dec 6 - Astronomers Catch a Comet Outburst

December 6 Astronomers Catch a Comet Outburst by:

This animation shows an explosive outburst of dust, ice and gases from comet 46P/Wirtanen that began on September 26, 2018, and dissipated over the next 20 days. NASA’s TESS spacecraft acquired an image of the comet every 3 hours during the first 3 days of the outburst. Image via Farnham et al./NASA/University of Maryland.

Astronomers catch a comet outburst What makes a comet flare up suddenly? No one knows exactly, but astronomers do know that outbursts are sometimes seen when comets are near their parent stars. Now University of Maryland astronomers say they've made the most complete and detailed observations to date of the formation and dissipation of a comet outburst. The comet is none other than 46P/Wirtanen, which last swept closest to the Earth and sun in late 2018. You might remember this comet. We published many beautiful images of it, captured in November and December 2018 by members of the EarthSky community. Shortly before astrophotographers began to ogle it, the comet entered the field of view of NASA’s TESS planet-hunter. Read more and see images. This white dwarf star has a giant, evaporating planet White dwarfs stars are typically more or less Earth-sized. The planet orbiting white dwarf WDJ0914+1914 appears to be at least twice as big as its star! High intensity radiation from its star is causing this planet to evaporate. Will the same thing happen in our solar system someday? Read more. Tonight … Aldebaran is the Bull's fiery eye If you can find the prominent constellation Orion, you can find the bright red star Aldebaran. Orion's Belt always points to Aldebaran - brightest star in Taurus the Bull - easy to spot at one tip of a V-shaped pattern of stars called the Hyades. Extending that line takes you generally toward the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. See Niko Powe's photo below, and look east in mid-evening in December. Read more.

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Tonight … Orion's Belt and the Celestial Bridge To the Aymara - indigenous people in the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America - the famous sky feature we know as Orion's Belt is seen as a Celestial Bridge between the sky's Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Read more.

Orion, Hyades, Sisters View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Niko Powe in Kewanee, Illinois, caught this image last night. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the sky is beginning to look like winter. Niko wrote: "Hyades, Seven Sisters (Pleiades), Orion the Hunter and more, starting to rise and reflect in the lake tonight. Have a peaceful evening and day." Thank you, Niko! Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

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