Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Unexpected X-rays from Comet Hyakutake

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 11, 1996 is “Unexpected X-rays from Comet Hyakutake,” an image. It is credited to Credit: C. Lisse, M. Mumma (NASA/GSFC), K. Dennerl, J. Schmidt, and J. Englhauser (MPE). The original explanation runs about 121 words.

Unexpected X-rays from Comet Hyakutake
Credit: C. Lisse, M. Mumma (NASA/GSFC), K. Dennerl, J. Schmidt, and J. Englhauser (MPE) Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The first X-rays ever detected from a comet were discovered from Comet Hyakutake with the ROSAT satellite on March 27th. The discovery is particularly surprising because there was little previous indication that comets emit any significant X-radiation.”

— APOD editors, April 11, 1996

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
April 11, 1996
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: C. Lisse, M. Mumma (NASA/GSFC), K. Dennerl, J. Schmidt, and J. Englhauser (MPE)
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 121 words

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

Topics in this entry

The SunComets

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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.