Comet Neowise captured in all its glory; Hubble telescope goes above and beyond

The Hubble Telescope has provided a stunning collection of images since its launch in 1990 that has inspired the general public. They have also collected massive amounts of data that has provided the scientists with a better understanding of the universe. Recently, the Hubble Telescope moved its powerful vision towards a once in a lifetime celestial visitor, Comet Neowise which put up a beautiful show earlier this year on the Northern Hemisphere.

Image source: NASA Hubble's Twitter handle

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Hubble Telescope catches Comet Neowise in action

The Hubble telescope captured stunning images of Comet Neowise's coma, the cloud of gas and dust spraying off the frozen comet as the Sun's ray hit its surface on the 8th of August. The telescope was able to capture the Comet Neowise from a great distance, almost 43 million kilometres (27 million miles), which was a triple milestone for the Hubble Telescope's capturing power.

NASA made a statement saying, "This is the first time Hubble has photographed a comet of this brightness at such resolution after this close of a pass by the sun", pointing out that the nucleus managed to stay intact even after such close interaction with the sun.

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Qicheng Zhang, the man behind the camera

Qicheng Zhang is a graduate student from the California Institute of Technology and he led the imaging campaign of capturing the images of Comet Neowise with the help of the Hubble Telescope. He made a statement: “Hubble has far better resolution than we can get with any other telescope of this comet, that resolution is very key for seeing details very close to the nucleus. It lets us see changes in the dust right after it's stripped from that nucleus due to solar heat, sampling dust as close to the original properties of the comet as possible".

The Hubble Telescope's Capabilities

The Hubble Telescope does have a very powerful vision, but it does not have the required resolution to capture the nucleus directly. It is estimated by the team that Comet Neowise's nucleus is only 5 kilometers (3 miles) across. The telescope was able to capture the humongous cloud of gas and dust spread across the nucleus spanning upto 18,000 kilometers (11,000 miles). The Telescope was also able to capture to jets jutting out from the nucleus in opposite directions which opened into curves due to the rotation of the heart of the comet. The jets formed the same way that the coma was formed, thanks to the sun’s rays hitting the comet.

Also read: Betelgeuse's Sudden Dimming Uncovered By NASA's Hubble Space Telescope

Images of Comet Neowise opens up more possibilities

The images of Comet Neowise will be of great help for the researchers to understand more about dust in the solar system, studying these small bodies helps the researchers understand how the current neighbourhood was formed. The researchers also hope to figure out the colour of Neowise's cometary dust and analyse how the colours change when the comet follows a trajectory away from the sun. These properties will help explain how the sun's heat can change the structure and composition of the comet's coma.

Also read: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image Showing 'summertime' On Saturn

What's next for Neowise?

Comet Neowise continues to follow its trajectory towards the outer solar system slowly disappearing from view. The Comet is not expected to make another appearance for the next 7000 years. After the Hale Bopp in 1997, Comet Neowise was the brightest comet in the Northern Hemisphere.

Also read: Here's How You Can Check What Space Looked Like On Your B'day Through APOD And Hubble

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