Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: Comet Halley was photographed superposed in front of the disk of our Milky Way Galaxy in 1986 by the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. Comet Halley is the bright white streak near this photograph's center. Comet Halley is the most famous comet in history, and returns to the inner Solar System every 76 years. Stars visible in our Milky Way Galaxy typically lie millions of times farther in the distance and orbit the Galactic center every 250 million years. Billions of comets are thought to orbit our Sun but most do not get close enough for us to see. Similarly, billions of stars orbit our Milky Way's center but do not get close enough for us to see.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publications with keywords: comet Halley - Milky Way
Publications with words: comet Halley - Milky Way
See also:

• The Milky Road
• A Milky Way Band
• Jupiter, Vesta, and the Milky Way
• The Milky Way Near the Southern Cross
• The Milky Way Over Paranal
• Our Galaxy in Stars, Gas, and Dust
• The Frothy Milky Way

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