Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 21, 2024 is “Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over California,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: Brian Fulda). The original explanation runs about 165 words.

A starfield is shown with a bright comet. The main tail of the comet points diagonally to the upper left, while a thin anti-tail points to the lower right. Mountain peaks are visible at the bottom in the foreground. Please see the explanati
Credit & Copyright: Brian Fulda Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The tails of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS were a sight to behold. Pictured, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was captured near peak impressiveness last week over the Eastern Sierra Mountains in California , USA .”

— APOD editors, October 21, 2024

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
October 21, 2024
Type
Image
Credit
Credit & Copyright: Brian Fulda
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 165 words

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Topics in this entry

Comets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: October 21 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.