Comet Swan on October 25
November 01, 2006
The photo above of Comet Swan was captured from the Cimini Astronomical Observatory in Soriano, Italy on October 25, 2006. In late October, this comet experienced a burst of brightness, perhaps associated with a vein of freshly-exposed volatile ice that may have opened up in the comet's nucleus. It's magnitude has increased 4-fold -- from +6.0 to about +4.5 Comet Swan now possesses a great ion tail as well as a dust tail near the aquamarine coma. If you're far away from city lights, it may even be possible to see it with the unaided eye. It's now in the constellation of Hercules -- see the links below for more details. Take a look!