Comet Kohoutek, 1974
Color photograph of the comet Kohoutek was taken by members of the lunar and planetary laboratory photographic team from the University of Arizona, at the Catalina Observatory with a 35mm camera on January 11, 1974. Comet Kohoutek is a long-period comet; its previous apparition was about 150,000 years ago, and its next apparition will be in about 75,000 years. At its apparition in 1973 it had a hyperbolic trajectory due to gravitational perturbations from giant planets. Due to its path, scientists theorized that Kohoutek was an Oort-cloud object. As such, it was believed that this was the comet's first visit to the inner Solar System, which would result in a spectacular display of outgassing. Infrared and visual telescopic study have led many scientists to conclude, in retrospect, that Kohoutek is actually a Kuiper-belt object, which would account for its apparent rocky makeup and lack of outgassing. This comet was observed by the crews of Skylab 4 and Soyuz 13, thus becoming the first comet to be observed by a manned spacecraft.
Size: 3004px × 4500px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: /1973, 1970s, 1973, 1973f, 1974, 20th, america, american, arizona, astronomical, astronomy, body, catalina, celestial, century, comet, e1, historic, historical, history, kohoutek, kuiper-belt, long-period, object, observatory, phenomena, phenomenon, science, states, united, university, usa, xii
