Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

A Triple View of Comet ZTF

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for January 31, 2023 is “A Triple View of Comet ZTF,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Javier Caldera & Miguel Gracia). The original explanation runs about 182 words.

Comet ZTF is shown high above and far beyond a row of silhouetted trees. The top inset image shows how the comet looked through binoculars, while the lower inset image shows how the comet looked, last week, thought a small telescope. The lo
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Javier Caldera & Miguel Gracia Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Comet ZTF has a distinctive shape. The now bright comet visiting the inner Solar System has been showing not only a common dust tail , ion tail , and green gas coma, but also an uncommonly distinctive antitail .”

— APOD editors, January 31, 2023

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
January 31, 2023
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Javier Caldera & Miguel Gracia
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 182 words

All of January 2023 → · 2023 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Comets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: January 31 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.