Explore Comet ImagesComets Change Shape Near the Sun......
Comet astronomers describe comets as 'dirty snowballs'. Inside a comet is a solid conglomeration of ices and pieces of rock and dust left over from the early formation of the solar system. This solid inside part is relatively small, only a few miles across. It is called the nucleus.
As a comet approaches the Sun, the Sun's energy warms the comet ices. Comet ices don't melt. Instead, the ices sublimate, changing directly from solid to gas. A giant 'cloud' of gas and dust forms around the comet. This part of the comet is called the coma.
The Sun emits charged particles called the solar wind. The solar wind pushes comet gases and dust away from the comet in long streaming tails which always point away from the Sun.
Find the brightest spot in the coma!
This image of Comet Hale-Bopp was requested by Robert Groover a teacher at Bordentown Regional High School in Bordentown, New Jersey. The image was taken by Dave Lane at Burke-Gaffney Observatory at Saint Mary's University on January 30, 1997. Measure a comet in all directions!
Download fits images of comets.
Open Hands-On Universe Image Processing. Use the image processing tools to explore comet features.
Change the color palette. Adjust the min and max values. Find the brightest pixel in the coma. Use the slice tool to measure distances from the brightest point to the edges.
Image Name and Information Brightest Pixel in Coma of the Comet ( x , y ) Length of Shortest Slice to Brightest Pixel Length of Longest Slice to Brightest Pixel Observations
- To change the color display of the image, click the arrow on the tool bar next to the color word (GREY). Select a color from the pull down menu.
- If you click in the
Log, more colors will be matched to faint areas.
- Adjust the min and max values in three different ways.
- Slide the tabs on the min and max slide bar.
- Click on the arrows on the tool bar.
- Change the numbers on either side of the min and max slide bar.
- To use the slice tool, go to DATA TOOLS and select Slice. Click and drag across the image where you wish to slice. Click again.
- To determine lengths of slices, click on the graph inside the plot window.
Click and drag on the graph of the plot with your cursor. Now look at the slice on the image. You should see a little box on the slice showing you the position on the image that matches the position on the graph. The distance units are in pixels.
Sketch the comet image you like the best. Show the center and the slices. Note your min and max settings. Note the color palette you used.
What did you learn while exploring comet images?
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Back to Comets Menu Page http://hou.lbl.gov/~vhoette/Comets
