Wednesday, October 2, 2013

The inner solar system has been visited by a lot of debris left over after all the planets where made.  This stuff is made out of some dust, some rock, and lots of ice.  That is why they have the nickname of "dirty snowballs".  So, where do these things come from?  Billions of them make up a huge cloud that orbits our sun.  This circular Oort cloud doesn't start until after you get past Pluto's orbit.  Every now and then one of these objects gets knocked out of its place in the cloud and starts an extremely long orbit that dips near the sun and then back out past Pluto.  Sometimes, they plunge into the sun.

On this journey of theirs they put on a great show for us.  Here are a few examples.  This first picture has two comets in it, one at the upper left and one at the lower right:
 

 
This next one sure does have a long tail:
 


This one is a little further out:
 

 
All comets have two tails.  On is the ion tail that always points directly away from the sun because it is caused by the solar wind.  The other tail is a dust trail laid out behind the comet as it travels through space:
 

 
Another example of two tails.  This time they are almost in opposite directions:
 
 
And here are four more for your viewing pleasure:


 

 
 


 

 
 
 
 
I uploaded all these pictures to my computer last night but I didn't bother to add their names, figuring that I would go back to where I found them and ad their names today as I was writing this blog.  Trouble is, I can't find where I found them.  The names of most of them would not be familiar to all of you, they weren't for me.  The night sky is amazing.  Don't forget to look up when you go out at night.  You may see some amazing things!!  Now, you all have a great day and a great night, you hear? 

13 comments:

  1. 10 "shooting stars" to make wishes on! The Perseoid shower was a real bust for us this year... maybe we'll have better luck with the Orionids (Oct 21) or the Leonids (Nov 16). If not, I'll go back to your photos of those big dustballs and make a wish anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'll leave all that stuff to yall.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Howdy DD,
    To find stuff go back to HISTORY & click on it... A 2-tailed comet !!!
    Is that like a 2-striped skunk??? Thanx for the comet pics !!

    Sharon's got the right idea !!! Hope this is a HAPPY DAY @ DD&D's !!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dang....I seen solar an' I was think'n you bought some solar panels an' was gonna take a trip.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amazing photos. Have you seen Ison yet? My lovely wife thinks she saw it out by Mercury the other night.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I haven't been very lucky with the last few meteor showers with clouds and haze. The best time is a new moon and clear skies.

    Trouble, OK

    butterbean, I use three different systems; internet explorer, Chrome, and Firefox. I would also have to remember which one I used. I am having trouble finding the "history" tab.

    BB, I need to take a trip. My wife and I both have some health problems. Will have to move the RV soon or it will have flat spots on the tires.

    Sixbears, That is where it would be. I haven't been looking lately. I am surrounded by tall trees and it makes it hard to see neat the horizons.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very pretty pictures and I haven't wished upon a shooting star in eons... I need to do that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These are comets, not shooting stars. Shooting stares are meteors burning up in the atmosphere.

      Delete
    2. I know but I've never heard of making a wish on a comet's tail ... your pictures made me want to find a shooting star and wish upon it!

      doncha see

      Delete
    3. I don't know where to find dark enough skies any more to see much at night.

      Delete
    4. Gypsy, that is why I have a 16" dia mirror in my big telescope to. In the absence of dark skies you need a large aperture

      Delete
  8. Enjoyed the photos, so breath taking. Just wondering if we gathered up all the stink bugs and tossed the swam into space if the would look so pretty? Dang stink bugs!
    Thanks for sharing your wife's artwork, the spider was amazing--the envelope out of this world! I also enjoyed the pumpkins and poem. Still smiling!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jill, I don't want the job of gathering up those stink bugs. I will let you do it and then convince NASA to send them "out there".

      Thanks for letting us know you liked my wife's artwork. I will let her know.

      Delete