And if we are looking and seeing it head-on is it coming towards the Earth? The Mayan Calendar ends in 2012.
Someone here on Yahoo put it down as 12/12/2012. I read that Comet 17P/Holmes is in the Northern Skies and looks pretty fuzzy right now. All that dust reflecting light, a comet with no tail.
2007-11-04 14:24:46 · 10 answers · asked by blueridgemotors 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
If you can see its tail then you aren't looking at it head-on. If you were, then the tail would be behind it, out of your view.
And since the Earth rotates about the Sun, if you are seeing it head-on right now then it won't be head-on in a while later because the Earth will have moved out of the way.
2007-11-04 14:28:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Not necessarily. Remembe that the tail of a comet is the stream of gas and dust resulting from its exposure to the sun's solar wind, and the tail will always point away from the sun. The comet will actually be moving in a different direction than its tail. So if we don't see a tail from here on Earth, it could be that the comet is farther from the sun than we are and at nearly the same angle. It could also be that the tail is too faint to see well unless the sky is very dark.
2007-11-04 14:30:31 · answer #2 · answered by ansrdog 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Actually the direction of the tail of a comet is entirely based upon the thermal wind that it encounters. From a person's perspective here on earth a comet could actually be moving away from you with the tail preceding the head. No tail yet fuzzy may indicate looking through the tail. Tragectory path is more certain than the deception of the human eye.
2007-11-04 14:37:18 · answer #3 · answered by Stormy on the border 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Comet 17P/Holmes is moving AWAY from the sun in a direction along our line of sight, so its tail is preceding it in space.
It was at its closest approach to the sun in May 2007 - it comes no closer to the sun than Mars (its orbit is completely between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter).
2007-11-04 14:32:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
Hello,, seems to me that would be likely, the Mayan calendar says the end is on the winter solstice 2012, maybe they meant that the Mayans would be no more, hopefully that is closer to the real story. I want to be around for a few years after my child grows up. My son turns 18 in 2012.
2007-11-04 15:00:20 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it seems as if we are looking at Comet Holmes head on, but it is backing away from us, so there is no danger. Even more so, since its orbit is entirely between Mars and Jupiter, so it never comes anywhere near the Earth.
2007-11-04 14:41:19 · answer #6 · answered by GeoffG 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Or it could mean it doesn't have enough fuzz yet (not the case here). There is a little bit of a tail, but it's not easy to see. Not perfectly head-on.
It's going sideways and pointing to us.
Imagine if comet Hale-Bopp had come now..
2007-11-04 14:35:45 · answer #7 · answered by JA 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The fact that this comet is rapidly moving away from us, and we still see it getting bigger makes 17P Holmes even more extraordinary.
Enjoy it while you can.
2007-11-04 16:46:11 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
>Yes, it does...we are looking at it head-on because it's on the opposite side of the Sun from us right now. It will be long gone before 2012.<
2007-11-04 14:29:48 · answer #9 · answered by Druid 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Possibly, or it could be far enough away that the sun's radiation has not started to work on it yet. This way the ice would not be melting and no tail would be forming yet.
2007-11-04 14:29:26 · answer #10 · answered by Pat 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋