Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Comet Hyakutake Passes the Sun

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 16, 1996 is “Comet Hyakutake Passes the Sun,” an image. It is credited to Credit: G. Brueckner and the LASCO Team, SOHO, ESA, NASA. The original explanation runs about 112 words.

Comet Hyakutake Passes the Sun
Credit: G. Brueckner and the LASCO Team, SOHO, ESA, NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“On May 1, Comet Hyakutake made its closest approach to the Sun . During this time it was not possible to view the comet with most astronomical instruments because of the brightness of the nearby Sun.”

— APOD editors, May 16, 1996

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 16, 1996
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: G. Brueckner and the LASCO Team, SOHO, ESA, NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 112 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 16 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.