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Credit & Copyright: Petr Horölek /
Institute of Physics in Opava
Explanation:
As spring approaches for northern skygazers
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
is growing brighter.
Currently visible
with small telescopes and binoculars
the Halley-type comet could reach naked eye visibility in the
coming weeks.
Seen despite a foggy atmosphere,
the comet's green coma and long tail hover near the horizon,
in this well-composed
deep night skyscape
from Revuca, Slovakia recorded on March 5.
In the sky above the Halley-type comet,
the Andromeda (right) and Triangulum galaxies
flank bright star Mirach,
beta star of the constellation Andromeda.
The two spiral galaxies are members of our local galaxy group and
over 2.5 million light-years distant.
Comet Pons-Brooks is a periodic
visitor to the inner Solar
System
and less than 14 light-minutes away.
Reaching its perihelion on April 21, this comet should be visible
in the sky
during
the April 8 total solar eclipse.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: comet
Publications with words: comet
See also:
- APOD: 2024 December 16 Á A Kilometer High Cliff on Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko
- APOD: 2024 November 27 Á The Meteor and the Comet
- APOD: 2024 November 11 Á The Unusual Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan Atlas
- APOD: 2024 November 6 Á Comet Tsuchinshan Atlas over the Dolomites
- APOD: 2024 October 21 Á Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS over California
- Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS Flys Away
- Most of Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS