skyeye
An Extreme UltraViolet View of the Comet

As the Sun floods Comet Hyakutake with ultraviolet light gases
in the coma scatter the radiation and fluoresce making the comet a bright source
in the ultraviolet sky. The above image made using data from NASA's Extreme
UltraViolet Explorer (EUVE) satellite, represents the intensity of the comet in this
invisible high energy band in false color. The image is about 3/4 of a degree high
and 2 degress wide and offers insights to the composition of this visitor from the
distant solar system that can be obtained from the highest energy bands of the
ultraviolet spectrum. The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite has also
examined ultraviolet light from the comet and now reports the detection of many
bands of molecular emission particularly those due to molecular carbon (C2),
carbon monoxide (CO) and caron dioxide (C02) ions as well as indications of
a rapid increase in the production of water (H20).