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Credit & Copyright: Donato Lioce
Explanation:
No, Comet ZTF is not going to hit Mars.
Nicknamed the Green Comet for its bright green coma,
C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
did, however,
pass
almost in front of the much-more
distant planet
a few days ago, very near in time to when the featured picture was taken.
The two sky icons were here captured behind a famous Earth icon -- the
Matterhorn, a mountain in the
Italian
Alps with a
picturesque peak.
Both the foreground and background images were taken on the same evening by the same
camera and from the same location.
The comet's
white dust tail is visible to the right of the
green coma, while the light
blue ion tail
trails towards the top of the image.
Orange Mars
is well in front of the numerous background stars as well as the dark nebula
Barnard 22 to its lower right.
Although Mars remains
visible
in the evening sky for the next few months,
Comet ZTF has
already
begun to fade as it returns to the outer
Solar System.
Comet ZTF Gallery:
Notable Submissions to APOD
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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: 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