One of the many advantages of being in spaceis having a front-row seat to the most anticipated cosmic events.
NASAastronaut Don Pettit,gang bang sex videos flight engineer for the Expedition 72 crew, proved that when he witnessed Comet ATLAS from the International Space Station, orbiting 250 miles above Earth. The comet, officially known as C/2024 G3, started the week making its closest approach to the sun, and some astronomers are predicting it'll go down as the brightest comet of the year.
Pettit pointed a camera toward one of the space station's windows and caught the comet as it paid the astronauts a visit.
"It is totally amazing to see a comet from orbit," he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Right now Comet ATLAS appears in the constellation Sagittarius, and though it may look too close for comfort in Pettit's image, it's actually some 87 million milesfrom Earth. Sunlight tends to wash out such objects as they sidle up to the star, but this one can be viewed at dawn or dusk, its own brightness rivaling that of Venus, according to a NASA post.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shares a photo of Comet ATLAS that he took from a window of the International Space Station. Credit: Don Pettit / NASA Comets are enormous balls of ice, dust, and rockthat formed in the outer solar system, left over from the early days of planet formation about 4.6 billion years ago. Their ice starts to disintegrate as they get closer to the sun, converting instantly from a solid to a gas, skipping over the liquid phase. That process creates their signature tails, millions-of-miles-long trails of debris.
Hundreds of years ago, people considered comets bad omens. Today, scientists know these icy bodies as time capsules of the ancient solar system. Some astronomers believe comets brought water and organic compounds — aka the building blocks of life— to early Earth.
As 2024 came to a close, the tally of known cometshad risen to about 4,000. Astronomers say countless others are likely orbiting the sun beyond Neptune in a disk known as the Kuiper Belt, or on the outer edge of the solar system, in the so-called Oort Cloud, about 50 times farther from the sun.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit uses a camera on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA The Oort Cloud is thought to be a sphere of ancient, icy objects surrounding the solar system. Comets there are sometimes dislodged by the gravity of another object, redirecting them toward the sun. This distant realm is where astronomers believe Comet ATLAS, discovered last April, originated. If it survives its close encounter with the sun, the comet may return in about 160,000 years.
Catching a glimpse of the comet anywhere north of the equator is extremely challenging, but for the Southern Hemisphere, stargazers may have a chance to see it above the western horizon shortly after sunset. This could continue from mid-January through the rest of the month.
As Comet ATLAS exits the sun's intense glare over the next day or two, it could become easier to spot. Warning: Never stare in the direction of the sunwithout protective eyewear.
"There is hope that Comet ATLAS will survive its close pass near the Sun and remain bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye over the next few days," NASA said.
Heritage Source Open House This Saturday
South Carolina vs. Illinois football livestreams: kickoff time, streaming deals, and more
Wordle today: The answer and hints for December 30
Spend $50, get a $15 Amazon credit
PAAWWW Panel
Logitech deals: Shop deals on computer accessories at Best Buy
Apple's next Magic Mouse might come with voice control
Spend $50, get a $15 Amazon credit
Japanese Artist to Commemorate ‘Comfort Women’
Shark Days deals at Walmart, October 2024
MANAA, American Indians in Film/TV Condemn Whitewashing in ‘Annihilation’
Elon Musk's X sucks and I'm not leaving
Spend $50, get a $15 Amazon credit
Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics livestream: Watch NBA online
UnitOne and Miyake Taiko at Armstrong Theatre
Terrify Your Tablet 2024: All the free sci
Elon Musk's X sucks and I'm not leaving
Why does the alt
Screening of ‘Nuclear Cattle’ at Art Share L.A.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Portland Trail Blazers 2024 livestream: Watch NBA online
Luckin Coffee records first quarterly loss in two years, negative operating margin · TechNodeTencent Cloud says recent service failure results from cloud API anomalies · TechNodeJD to invest $138 million into supporting short video content · TechNodeElon Musk wants to build a city called Starbase in TexasVivo X100S to feature new MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset · TechNodeBlizzard Chinese server restores data, takes new reservations · TechNodeNASA's Perseverance Mars rover has a hidden 'family portrait'FIMI launches Mini 3 drone featuring Sony 48MP sensor and 249g weight · TechNodeStunning photo shows Perseverance's Mars landing from aboveQualcomm, China’s Momenta to build self 'The OA' is not returning at Netflix after two seasons Monica Lewinsky to produce 'Impeachment: American Crime Story' Going without headphones showed me you can't silence the world, or yourself, forever Simone Biles just made history (yes, again) with yet another awesome new move Google's efforts to fight scams may make phone repairs more expensive Every Apple, Google, and Samsung phone you can buy with a headphone jack Elizabeth Warren proposes 'public option for broadband' Twitter is reportedly testing a snooze feature for push notifications Apple has started 'locking' batteries to iPhones 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' Review: Bring on the tears
0.1385s , 14054.375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【gang bang sex videos】NASA astronaut snaps photo of 'totally amazing' comet from space station,Feature Flash
