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National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Hyper Suprime-Cam Captures a Clear Image of Comet ISON’s Long Tails

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During an intensive commissioning run, Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), mounted at prime focus on the Subaru Telescope, has successfully imaged the Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) as it journeys toward the Sun. Especially striking in the HSC image are the comet’s long tails, which span a distance more than twice the diameter of the full moon.

Figure
Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) imaged by HSC, taken during the early morning of November 5, 2013 in Hawaii in i band (760 nm wavelength). The top of the image is to the north, and the left part is to the east. The diameter of the frame is 1.5 degrees. [Large Images: 16MB(7892*8246px) / 390MB(31566*32984px)]
Also, click here for a scalable image.

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