Hubble Tracks Comet Borisov’s Flight Through Solar System
This time-lapse Hubble movie shows comet Borisov's journey through our solar system. Background stars appear as streaks of light because Hubble is tracking the moving comet. The amount of stars changes as the comet travels from low- to high-density stellar regions in the background.
The video was created using 37 images taken between Dec. 9, 2019, and Feb. 24, 2020. The total observation time for all of the images was three to four hours. However, the observations were made on five separate days: Dec. 9, 2019; Dec. 23, 2019; Jan. 3, 2020; Jan. 29, 2020; and Feb. 24, 2020.
The video is composed of images taken in visible light by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3.
Credits
NASA, ESA, K. Meech (University of Hawaii), and D. Jewitt (UCLA)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Comet 2I/Borisov |
| Object Description | Interstellar comet |
| Distance | At the time of observations, the comet was 1.99 AU from Earth (185 million miles). |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | HST observations include those from programs (D. Jewitt). |
| Instrument | WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | 9 Dec 2019 |
| Filters | F350LP |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is an exposure acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The color results from assigning the color blue to a monochromatic (grayscale) image. |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
