Show threadDaniel FischerApr 6
At 18:15 UTC - 6 hours before the solar eclipse for Artemis II begins - the remains of #Kreutz comet MAPS are hard to see (near the edge of the field in the 2 o'clock position) even with a lot of contrast boosting of the https://ccor.nrl.navy.mil/ccor_realtime/last_image_MinBckgnd.png images.
Show threadBenjamin KnispelApr 6

Another update on the fate of the Kreutz comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) as seen by the CCOR-1 coronograph (https://ccor.nrl.navy.mil/) on board the GOES-19 satellite.

The last image is from 7:15 UTC on April 6. The remnant of the comet is now becoming rather faint and is about as bright as the solar corona.

#Comet #CometMAPS #Kreutz #CCOR1 #Astrodon

Show threadDaniel FischerApr 6
Exactly 24 hours from now - at 0:35 UTC on 7 April - the total eclipse for the #ArtemisII crew will begin ... will they see / be able to photograph the fading detached dust tail of #Kreutz comet MAPS imaged here by https://ccor.nrl.navy.mil/ccor_realtime/last_image_MinBckgnd.png at 0:00 UTC on 6 April (image contrast-boosted a lot)? Deep images of the outer corona / #ZodiacalLight / potential dust hovering over the lunar limb might record it as well.
Show threadBenjamin KnispelApr 5

The same thing in movies of SOHO LASCO C2 (orange) and C3 (blue).

Source of both movies: https://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/mpeg/

#Comet #CometMAPS #MAPS #Kreutz #Astrodon #SOHO #LASCO

Show threadBenjamin KnispelApr 5

One more movie of the demise of Kreutz comet MAPS, showing the dust cloud feature emerging on the “wrong” – i.e. not following the comet's orbital motion – side of the Sun. You can see nice striations in the remaining dust / gas cloud.

#Comet #CometMAPS #MAPS #Kreutz #Astrodon

Show threadDaniel FischerApr 5
The detached remnant dust tail of #Kreutz ex-comet MAPS is slowly fading in CCOR-1 - check out https://ccor.nrl.navy.mil/realtime-movie for a *wild* animation - but on the other hand showing lots of striations. These three images cover a span of 7 hours today. Will anyone be able to spot it from the ground .... or the Artemis II crew exactly 30 hours from now when their solar eclipse begins? Fingers crossed and ISO high ... ;-)
Show threadBenjamin KnispelApr 5

Interesting streak structure in the comet MAPS remnant now visible in the recent CCOR-1 image.

#Comet #CometMAPS #MAPS
#Kreutz #Astrodon

Benjamin KnispelApr 5

Here's a movie of the end of Kreutz comet MAPS, showing the dust cloud feature emerging on the “wrong” (*) side of the Sun as discussed by @cosmos4u in https://scicomm.xyz/@cosmos4u/116348754573023995 and https://scicomm.xyz/@cosmos4u/116349936300324373.

(*) The comet should've reemerged from the Sun's glare at the opposing side.

#Comet #CometMAPS #MAPS #Kreutz #Astrodon

Show threadDaniel FischerApr 5
The dust cloud born out of the demise of #Kreutz comet MAPS yesterday continues to evolve dramatically in https://ccor.nrl.navy.mil/ccor_realtime/last_image_MinBckgnd.png images, here from 0:45 and 2:30 UTC Sunday - most think it's a former dust tail the comet formed hours before perihelion, with particles being pushed away from the Sun by radiation pressure far enough that they survived their personal perihelia while the comet itself did not. At least for this coronagraph the surface brightness looks pretty high ...
Show threadDaniel FischerApr 4
What remained of #Kreutz comet MAPS after perihelion: nothing reappeared on the left side of the Sun where a solid body would have been expected - but on the *other* side (~2 o'clock) a unique feature is now visible. It may be a dust cloud formed when the nucleus came apart near the closest point to the Sun: early thoughts at https://nitter.net/JAtanackov/status/2040532199527661879