WISE Spies Its First Comet
February 11, 2010 in Space by 8ify.com - Space
The red smudge at the center of this picture is the first comet discovered by NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer or WISE is living up to expectations, as it now has discovered its first comet, shortly after finding its first asteroid. The spacecraft, just launched on Dec. 14, 2009 and first spotted the comet on January 22, 2010. WISE is expected to find millions of other objects during its ongoing survey of the whole sky in infrared light. Officially named "P/2010 B2 (WISE)," the comet is a dusty mass of ice more than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in diameter.
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© nancy for Universe Today, 2010. |
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