Hubble image archive
Enhanced Hubble Image of Comet ISON
This is a contrast-enhanced image produced from the Hubble images of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) to reveal 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 prop...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2013
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2013-14-3174-image
This is a contrast-enhanced image produced from the Hubble images of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) to reveal 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 proportionally 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, evolution, and spin of the solid nucleus.
Credits
NASA, ESA, J.-Y. Li (Planetary Science Institute), and the Hubble Comet ISON Imaging Science TeamImage Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Comet ISON |
| Object Description | Comet |
| Distance | 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. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The image was created from Hubble data from proposal : J.-Y. Li (Planetary Science Institute), P. Lamy (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille), H. Weaver (JHU/APL), M. A'Hearn and M. Kelley (University of Maryland), M. Knight (Lowell Observatory), T. Farnham (University of Maryland), and I. Toth (Hungarian Academy of Sciences). |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | April 10, 2013 |
| Filters | F606W (V) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image was originally black and white and recorded only overall brightness. These brightness values were translated into a range of bluish hues. Such color "maps" can be useful in helping to distinguish subtly varying brightness in an image. |
More Images From This Period
Downloads
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov