Comet Kohoutek, Skylab Image, 1973
Photograph taken of the Comet Kohoutek from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit by a Skylab 4 crew member, December 1973. 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: 4200px × 3340px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: /1973, 1970s, 1973, 1973f, 1974, 20th, administration, aeronautics, america, american, astronomical, astronomy, body, bw, celestial, century, comet, e1, historic, historical, history, image, kohoutek, kuiper-belt, long-period, nasa, national, object, phenomena, phenomenon, science, skylab, space, states, station, united, usa, xii
