A team of astronomers from Stony Brook University (the State University
of New York at Stony Brook), the National Astronomical Observatory of
Japan (NAOJ), and others used Suprime-Cam, Subaru Telescope's
wide-field, prime-focus camera, to capture an image of the intricate
flow of Comet Lovejoy's (C/2013 R1) ion tail. (Figure 1)
The instrument's combination of a wide field of view and high spatial
resolution provides a clear delineation of the complex, wiggling streams
in the comet's tail. At the time of this observation, at around 5:30 am
on December 3, 2013 (Hawaii Standard Time), Comet Lovejoy was 50
million miles (80 million km) distant from Earth and 80 million miles
(130 million km) away from the Sun.
Figure 1: Image of Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) captured
by the Subaru Telescope's Suprime-Cam on December 3, 2013 (Hawaii
Standard Time). The wavelength was at 450 nm (B-band), with a 180 second
exposure. (Credit: NAOJ with data processing by Masafumi Yagi (NAOJ))
Comet Lovejoy was discovered in September this year (2013). At dawn on
October 31, 2013, Subaru Telescope succeeded in capturing its image,
which showed dust jets streaming from its nucleus. (Subaru Telescope Captures Visible-Light Images of the Comets ISON and Lovejoy)
Although Comet ISON (C2012 S1) did not survive its closest encounter
with the Sun (its perihelion) at the end of November (2013), Comet
Lovejoy's visibility has been increasing in the eastern sky. The current
image adds even more data about this newly-discovered comet. The
variety of approaches used to image and analyze Comet Lovejoy will lead
to a much clearer view of its detailed structure. As a member of the
observation team commented, "Subaru Telescope offers a rare combination
of large telescope aperture and a wide-field camera. This enabled us to
capture a detailed look at the nucleus while also photogenically
framing inner portions of Comet Lovejoy's impressive ion tail." (Figure 2)
Figure 2: Scientists in Subaru Telescope’s control room
checking the details of Comet Lovejoy from the image that Suprime-Cam
successfully captured. From left to right: the principal investigator of
the observation, Dr. Jin Koda (Stony Brook University, New York),
Alexandre Bouquin (U. Complutense, Spain), and David Thilker (Johns
Hopkins University, Maryland). Dr. Masafumi Yagi (NAOJ), who promptly
analyzed the data, was at NAOJ headquarters in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan. He
participated in the observation via Subaru Telescope’s remote
observation system.
Source: Subaru Telescope
