A shenzhen technology company's exploration satellite recently photographed the 70,000-year-old green comet "Leonard's Comet", which shows a bright green ice ball dragging a long tail over the Northern Lights and meteor showers, and the stunning picture has caused a sensation in the world.
Shenzhen Origin Space reportedly launched a small exploration satellite, Lookout 1, a commercial space telescope that images the universe in visible light and ultraviolet light earlier this year. At the same time, it is also working on the search for near-Earth asteroids that could one day exploit resources and return to Earth.
It is reported that this is China's first commercial space mission, which can be used for commercial and non-commercial purposes.
Comet Leonard appears to be passing through the Northern Lights and meteor shower.
On December 12, as Comet Leonard was speeding past Earth, Look Up 1 captured a beautiful picture of the bright green ice ball flying over the Northern Lights and meteor shower with its long tail.
The comet, about half a mile wide and discovered on Jan. 3 at the Mount Lemmon Infrared Observatory in Arizona on Jan. 3, designated C/2021 AI, is expected to be the brightest comet in 2021.
Leonard's Comet photographed by the international astronomical community.
Since its discovery, Comet Leonard has been approaching the Sun and Earth, but has been a very dim object. Most comets are too dim for amateur telescopes to capture, but for a short period of time in December, Comet Leonard will illuminate the night sky.
Comet Leonard flew by about 21 million miles (35 million kilometers) away from Earth on December 12, at its closest and brightest, to a visual brightness of 4, enough to be seen with the naked eye.
Comet Leonard was closest to Earth on December 12, and at its brightest.
Astronomers say it may have taken Leonard's Comet about 35,000 years to enter the solar system from about 323 billion miles (520 billion kilometers) away, and may have made one last visit to the inner solar system about 70,000 years ago.
Leonard is also a fast-moving comet that moves at a speed of 254399 kilometers per hour relative to Earth, or 70.6 kilometers per second.
As it approaches the Earth and the Sun, its speed slows down, and volatile substances such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide, which cover the comet's nucleus, evaporate. The closer you get to the Sun, the hotter the comet becomes, emitting first blue dust, then yellow or white, and finally green, forming a bright green comet tail in the night sky.
On Jan. 3 next year, Comet Leonard reaches its closest location to the Sun, 57.2 million miles (92 million kilometers) away.
Once bypassing the Sun, Comet Leonard will be "thrown" out of the solar system and never be on Earth.
NASA and ESA have also filmed Video of Leonard's Comet.
Before Leonard's Comet was photographed by Look-Up 1, NASA's Solar-Earth Observatory spacecraft (STEREO-A) and the European Space Agency's (ESA) Solar Orbiter Observatory also captured videos of the comet's flight.
Founded in March 2019, Shenzhen Origin Space Technology Co., Ltd. is China's first commercial company dedicated to the exploitation and utilization of space resources, while providing data, technology, resource support and commercial solutions for space activities, aiming to rely on the strategic layout of the resources of space powers, promote the upgrading process of human industrial civilization, and reduce the pressure of earth resource exploitation to achieve sustainable development.
According to the company's official website, Origin Space has a professional team of the top level in the world, the team members have rich experience in aerospace engineering, and have participated in dozens of models of satellites, spacecraft, and space stations, with disciplinary background spanning space science, aerospace engineering, spacecraft orbit design, geological mineralogy, artificial intelligence, big data, meteorite planetary science and other fields.
Text/Nandu reporter Chen Lin