NASA Photo ID: S73-38390           File Name: 10076394.jpg
Film Type: 4x5 BW                  Date Taken: 12/06/73
Title: Earth-based photography of Comet Kohoutek in sky on December 6, 1973
Description:
An earth-based photograph of the Comet Kohoutek in the sky on December 6, 
1973, when the celestial phenomenon was more than 70 million miles from the 
Sun and some 119 million miles from Earth. This picture was taken from a 
dark mountain top area of Haleakala (Island of Maui) Hawaii, using a 35mm 
Nikon camera with a 55mm lens, a 300-second exposure at f/1.2 and with
Tri-X  film. The photographer was Frank Giovane. The indicated visible tail
of the  comet appears to be about 10 million miles long. Other reports have
inferred  that the length of the tail is up to 13 million miles. The Skylab
4 crewmen  have reported that Kohoutek's tail-length was from 2 to 3
degrees or from 4  to 6 million miles as viewed with the naked eye from the
Skylab space station  in earth orbit.            

Subject terms:
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY                      
EARTH (PLANET)                          
KOHOUTEK COMET                          
PHOTOGRAPHY                             

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