21 Oct
2013
21 Oct
'13
9:02 a.m.
WRT Encke not having much of a tail, it's been through so many perihelion passages that I didn't assume it ever had much of a tail (its orbit is such that it passes perihelion about every three years, iirc) One of those ho-hum; been-there-done-that comets. Then a quick search reveals one image that does have a tail, but it's not taken from earth's surface, but by the STEREO solar satellite mission: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/news/encke.html All the other pictures a quick search turned up show just a nucleus and an offset coma. So take your pick: viewing angle or just not very active--may be a combination of both this perihelion passage, but it does look like it's appeared tail-less on prior passages also. JMC