Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Fri Sep 10 2021 00:03:20

                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2021 September 10

                           Rosetta's Comet in View
       Image Credit & Copyright: Rolando Ligustri (CARA Project, CAST)

   Explanation: Faint comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) sweeps past
   background stars in the constellation Taurus and even fainter distant
   galaxies in this telescopic frame from September 7. About 5 years ago,
   this comet's 4 kilometer spanning, double-lobed nucleus became the
   final resting place of robots from planet Earth, following the
   completion of the historic Rosetta mission to the comet. After
   wandering out beyond the orbit of Jupiter, Churyumov-Gerasimenko is now
   returning along its 6.4 year periodic orbit toward its next perihelion
   or closest approach to the Sun, on November 2. On November 12, the
   comet's perigee, its closest approach to Earth, will bring it within
   about 0.42 astronomical units. Telescopes should still be required to
   view it even at its brightest, predicted to be in late November and
   December. On September 7 Rosetta's comet was about 0.65 astronomical
   units away or about 5.4 light-minutes from our fair planet.

                      Tomorrow's picture: cloudy night
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