Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Comet Hyakutake and a Cactus

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 1, 1996 is “Comet Hyakutake and a Cactus,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Rick Scott and Joe Orman, near Florence Junction, Arizona, Courtesy Night of the Comet. The original explanation runs about 169 words.

Comet Hyakutake and a Cactus
Credit: Rick Scott and Joe Orman, near Florence Junction, Arizona, Courtesy Night of the Comet Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Comet Hyakutake is shown photographed the night of March 27 in Arizona, USA, with a cactus in the foreground. Polaris, the north star, is the bright star seen just to the upper right of the comet’s head.”

— APOD editors, May 1, 1996

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 1, 1996
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Rick Scott and Joe Orman, near Florence Junction, Arizona, Courtesy Night of the Comet
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 169 words

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

Topics in this entry

The SunComets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 1 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.