Contains:  Solar system body or event
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Comet Giacobanni Zinner, Hap Griffin

Comet Giacobanni Zinner

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Comet Giacobanni Zinner, Hap Griffin

Comet Giacobanni Zinner

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Description

Comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner sailing through the inner solar system on September 8, 2018 . In this image, the motion of the comet is obvious over the 2.5 hours of exposure (3 minute individual exposures stacked). Each image is aligned on the comet's core, making the background stars appear to be streaks. This is the only way to accumulate enough exposure on a moving comet to see detail in its tail. 21P is a short period comet, orbiting the Sun every 6.6 years. Each December, Earth passes through the trail of this comet and the result is the Draconid meteor shower as bits of debris impact the Earth's upper atmosphere.

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Comet Giacobanni Zinner, Hap Griffin