2013 - Astrophotography by Pete Richardson

Here you will find images of comets, those mysterious visitors from the edges of our Solar System that occasionally make spectacular viewing on their approach to and around our Star. On rare occasion they are visible to the naked eye with many bright examples being noted in history. Predominantly made from rocky material and ice they are often termed as dirty snowballs and it is the heating of this material by our Sun that causes the outgassing of some of this material and this in turn gives us the characteristic coma and tail. Comet tails always point away from the direction of the solar radiation no matter where the comet is positioned in relation to the Sun.