Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Comet Pons-Brooks' Swirling Coma

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 18, 2024 is “Comet Pons-Brooks' Swirling Coma,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Jan Erik Vallestad). The original explanation runs about 208 words.

A comet is pictured with a really long and wavy ion tail. The front of the comet -- its coma -- appears to be a spiral. The coma is green, the tail is faint blue, and part of the swirl is red. Please see the explanation for more detailed in
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Jan Erik Vallestad Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“A bright comet will be visible during next month’s total solar eclipse. This very unusual coincidence occurs because Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks ‘s return to the inner Solar System places it by chance only 25 degrees away from the Sun during Earth’s April 8 total solar eclipse .”

— APOD editors, March 18, 2024

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
March 18, 2024
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Jan Erik Vallestad
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 208 words

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Topics in this entry

The SunEclipsesComets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: March 18 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.