Soul of Systems

Comet McNaught of 2006

 

The first bright comet of the 21st century, Comet C/2006 P1 McNaught reached a brilliance of several times that of Venus at magnitude -5.5 and was termed the Great Comet of 2007. One of the brightest comets in the past century, McNaught sported a brilliant fan-shaped tail and was seen by millions worldwide. If you missed it on the first pass, you’re out of luck — McNaught is on an extremely long period orbit, and won’t return to the inner solar system for another 92,600 years.