Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Here Comes Comet Hyakutake

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 13, 1996 is “Here Comes Comet Hyakutake,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Oscar Pizarro, 1-meter Schmidt Telescope, La Silla, Chile, European Southern Observatory. The original explanation runs about 237 words.

Here Comes Comet Hyakutake
Credit: Oscar Pizarro, 1-meter Schmidt Telescope, La Silla, Chile, European Southern Observatory Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The reaction of ancient peoples to the appearance of bright comets has toppled empires, de-throned kings, and been taken as a sign of great things to come. Probably some of these comets did not get as bright as Comet Hyakutake (“hyah-koo-tah-kay”) will in the next two weeks.”

— APOD editors, March 13, 1996

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
March 13, 1996
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Oscar Pizarro, 1-meter Schmidt Telescope, La Silla, Chile, European Southern Observatory
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 237 words

All of March 1996 → · 1996 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Comets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: March 13 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.