This image may not be used by or to promote the arms, nuclear power or tobacco industries or any religious organisation, or in any discriminatory way,
This image may not be used by or to promote the arms, nuclear power or tobacco industries or any religious organisation, or in any discriminatory way, or to imply the endorsement by ESO of any product, service or activity Comet C/2014 S3 (PANSTARRS), illustration. This artwork is based on observations made with the European Southern Observatory (ESO)'s Very Large Telescope (VLT), and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). These show that despite being on a long-period cometary orbit, this comet has the characteristics of a pristine inner Solar System asteroid. Its surface displays few or no craters. As it formed in the same region as the Earth did, it is mostly rocky, and therefore has experienced limited cometary activity. This means it may provide important information about the composition and conditions of the early Solar System. Image published in 2016. For the orbit, see image C035/6744.
Size: 7181px × 4867px
Photo credit: © M. KORNMESSER/EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, /2014, 1, 2016, ancient, artwork, asteroid, astronomical, astronomy, canada-france-hawaii, cfht, comet, cometary, early, illustration, large, long, long-period, pan-starrs, panstarrs, period, planetary, pristine, rocky, s3, science, single, solar, space, system, telescope, unchanged, vlt
