Comet Lemmon C/2012 F6

Comet Lemmon

Comets come from a place called the sphere cometary remnant of the past and distant reservoir of diffuse material surrounding the outer solar system. Comet Lemmon C/2012 F6 was photographed March 23, 2012 by Alex Gibbs with the 1.5 m telescope of the Mount Lemmon Observatory located at 2790 m altitude, Arizona.
It is on the images performed under a research program of asteroids, the comet of magnitude 21, was discovered. Its magnitude will increase gradually as its approach to the Sun, reaching 2 at the end of March. It will be on its perihelion at about 100 million km from the Sun (about the distance of the orbit of Venus).
Comet Lemmon has an orbital period of about 11,000 years and as many comets orbit is very elliptical. The few images already made ​​a pretty show green ball moving between the stars.
The color green is often characteristic of comets, the green color is emitted from the thin atmosphere composed of bright gas (cyanogen and carbon) and particles surrounding the nucleus.
October 20, 2010 when she was closer to the Earth, the comet Harley 2 discrete showed us his green tail, passing 18 million miles from Earth.

Lemmon, Panstarrs and Ison are three comets of 2013, Lemmon and Panstarrs in March and year-end 2013, it is the comet Ison which illuminate our sky.

NB: Comets are small spheres of ice which travel between the stars, and were surprised by the Sun. Their orbits are elliptical paths, extremely eccentric around the Sun. When a comet approaches the Sun, the outer layer vaporizes and forms a gaseous envelope (coma). Solar radiation exerts pressure on the coma and forces the particles and gases away from the Sun, forming a bright trail of ionized particles.
Comets shine in the memory of mankind.
They have long been the misfortune, disaster and upheaval. A comet is not the messenger of misfortune, but the guardian of the past, which holds the keys of our origin.
In the 19th century the separation of science and religion, the image of the comet is more negative. One can contemplate for weeks before they disappear, to return, 10, 100 or 3000 years later. Comets are dirty icebergs traveling through space, swarming primordial matter.

Image: carried January 9, 2013 in the southern hemisphere, this comet Lemmon image shows its already beautiful green color and diffuse tail sweeping the stars of the night sky. Picture taken by a telescope Automated Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. © Rolando Ligustri.