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Credit & Copyright: Fritz
Helmut Hemmerich
Explanation:
It's rare that such different objects are imaged so
close
together.
Such an occasion is
occurring now, though, and was
captured two days ago in combined parallel exposures from the
Canary Islands of
Spain.
On the lower right, surrounded by a
green coma and emanating an unusually
split blue ion tail
diagonally across the frame, is
Comet C/2013 X1 (PanSTARRS).
This giant snowball has been
falling toward our Sun
and brightening since its discovery in 2013.
Although
Comet PannSTARRS is a picturesque target for long-duration exposures of astrophotography,
it is expected to be only barely
visible to the
unaided
eye when it reaches its
peak brightness in the next month.
On the upper left, surrounded by
red-glowing gas, is the also-picturesque
Helix Nebula.
At 700
light
years distant,
the Helix is not only much further away than the comet,
but is expected to retain its appearance for thousands of years.
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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 - Helix Nebula
Publications with words: comet - Helix Nebula
See also:
- APOD: 2025 February 5 Á Comet G3 ATLAS Setting over a Chilean Hill
- APOD: 2025 February 2 Á Comet G3 ATLAS Disintegrates
- APOD: 2025 January 28 Á Comet G3 ATLAS over Uruguay
- APOD: 2025 January 26 Á The Many Tails of Comet G3 ATLAS
- Comet G3 ATLAS: a Tail and a Telescope
- APOD: 2025 January 21 Á Comet ATLAS over Brasilia
- APOD: 2025 January 20 Á Comet ATLAS Rounds the Sun