Comet Hale-Bopp, at a distance of nearly 2,000 million kilometres from the Sun

Comet Hale-Bopp, still active at a distance of nearly 2,000 million kilometres from the Sun. The photo is a colour composite of several exposures in different wavebands, obtained with the Wide-Field Imager (WFI) camera at the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at the La Silla Observatory. Despite the very large distance from the Sun, the comet is still "active" — it continues to lose material, as demonstrated by the curved jet, and also possesses an enormous coma. The broad, fan-shaped extension in the tail direction (to the upper left) measures at least 2 million kilometres.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:eso0108a
Type:Observation
Release date:6 March 2001
Related releases:eso0108
Size:2826 x 1928 px

About the Object

Name:Comet Hale-Bopp
Type:Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Comet
Category:Solar System

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