Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 January 27
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                      Comet ZTF: Orbital Plane Crossing
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Dan Bartlett

   Explanation: [5]The current darling of the [6]northern night, Comet
   C/2022 E3 ZTF is captured in this telescopic image from a dark sky
   location at June Lake, California. [7]Of course Comet ZTF has been
   [8]growing brighter in recent days, headed for its closest approach to
   Earth on February 1. But this view was recorded on January 23, very
   close to the time planet Earth crossed the orbital plane of
   [9]long-period Comet ZTF. The comet's broad, whitish dust tail is still
   curved and [10]fanned out away from the Sun as Comet ZTF sweeps along
   its orbit. Due to perspective near the [11]orbital plane crossing,
   components of the fanned out dust tail appear on both sides of the
   comet's green tinted coma though, to lend Comet ZTF a visually striking
   (left) [12]anti-tail. [13]Buffeted by solar activity the comet's
   narrower ion tail also streams away from the coma diagonally to the
   right, across the nearly three degree wide field of view.

                    Tomorrow's picture: over the mountain
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    Authors & editors: [25]Robert Nemiroff ([26]MTU) & [27]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([28]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [29]Specific rights apply.
              [30]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [31]ASD at [32]NASA / [33]GSFC,
                         [34]NASA Science Activation
                           & [35]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2301/C2022E3ZTF_2023_01_23_054036PST_DEBartlett.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.astrobin.com/users/h2ologg/
   5. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.172146088847310
   6. https://www.petrhoralek.com/?p=23393
   7. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/new-comet-might-get-bright-enough-for-binoculars/
   8. https://spaceweathergallery2.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=191771
   9. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/comets/in-depth/#otp_where_do_comets_come_from?
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130330.html
  11. http://astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2022E3
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130526.html
  13. https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=19&month=01&year=2023
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230126.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  18. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  23. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230127
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230128.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  28. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  31. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  34. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  35. http://www.mtu.edu/