Enhanced Hubble image of Comet ISON

Esahubble_opo1314b_1024

esahubble_opo1314b April 24th, 2013

Credit: NASA, ESA, J.-Y. Li (Planetary Science Institute), and the Hubble Comet ISON Science Team

This is a contrast-enhanced image produced from Hubble images of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON). It reveals the subtle structure in the inner coma of the comet. In this computer-processed view, the Hubble image has been divided by a computer model coma that decreases in brightness proportional to the distance from the nucleus, as expected for a comet that is producing dust uniformly over its surface. ISON's coma shows enhanced dust particle release on the sunward-facing side of the comet's nucleus, the small, solid body at the core of the comet. This information is invaluable for determining the comet's shape and evolution, and the spin of the solid nucleus.

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo1314b/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
C/2012 S1
Subject - Solar System
Interplanetary Body > Comet

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Hubble (WFC3) Optical (F606) -
Esahubble_opo1314b_1280
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ID
opo1314b
Subject Category
A.2.2  
Subject Name
C/2012 S1
Credits
NASA, ESA, J.-Y. Li (Planetary Science Institute), and the Hubble Comet ISON Science Team
Release Date
2013-04-24T14:46:25
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo1314b/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
At the time of the Hubble observation, the comet was 4.15 astronomical units (386 million miles) from the Sun. The comet was 4.24 astronomical units (394 million miles) from Earth.
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
WFC3
Color Assignment
Band
Optical
Bandpass
F606
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
http://www.spacetelescope.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
opo1314b
Metadata Date
2019-10-07T11:41:18.028811
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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