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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Sky Show This Month: "Two-Tailed" Comet Nearing Earth


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Amateur astronomer Gregg Ruppel captured the above image of Comet Lulin on January 15, 2009, which shows the comet's faint tail and rare anti-tail—a slim "second tail" that seems to point toward the sun but is actually an optical effect.

Comet Lulin will make its closest approach to Earth on February 24, and while it will probably be hard to see with the naked eye, astronomers think the "fresh" new comet has the potential to brighten rapidly.

Photograph by Gregg Ruppel