Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Comet Pons-Brooks' Ion Tail

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 26, 2024 is “Comet Pons-Brooks' Ion Tail,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit & License: James Peirce. The original explanation runs about 154 words.

A large comet is shown with its head near the right and a light blue flowing ion tail flowing across into the rest of the image. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Credit: Image Credit & License: James Peirce Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Comet Pons-Brooks has quite a tail to tell. First discovered in 1385 , this erupting dirty snowball loops back into our inner Solar System every 71 years and, this time, is starting to put on a show for deep camera exposures.”

— APOD editors, March 26, 2024

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
March 26, 2024
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & License: James Peirce
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 154 words

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Topics in this entry

The SunComets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: March 26 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.