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Credit & Copyright: Lin Zixuan
(Tsinghua U.)
Explanation:
Not one, but two comets appeared near the Sun during
last week's total solar eclipse.
The expected comet was
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks,
but it was disappointingly dimmer than many had hoped.
However, relatively unknown Comet SOHO-5008 also appeared in long duration camera exposures.
This comet was the 5008th comet identified on images taken by
ESA &
NASA's Sun-orbiting
SOHO spacecraft.
Likely much smaller, Comet SOHO-5008 was a sungrazer which
disintegrated
within hours as it passed too
near the Sun.
The featured image is not only unusual for capturing
two comets during an eclipse,
but one of the rare times that a
sungrazing comet has been photographed from the Earth's surface.
Also visible in the image is the
sprawling corona of
our Sun and the planets
Mercury (left) and
Venus (right).
Of these planets and comets, only
Venus was easily visible to
millions of people in the
dark shadow of the Moon that
crossed North America on April 8.
Solar Eclipse Imagery: 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: total solar eclipse - comet
Publications with words: total solar eclipse - 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