Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

The Unusual Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for November 11, 2024 is “The Unusual Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Bray Falls). The original explanation runs about 152 words.

A starfield is shown that includes a bright comet. A bright tail points to the upper right but has an unusual dark streak in it. A thin anti-tail points toward the lower left. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Bray Falls Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What created an unusual dark streak in Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas’s tail? Some images of the bright comet during mid-October not only caught its impressively long tail and its thin anti-tail , but a rather unexpected feature: a dark streak in the long tail .”

— APOD editors, November 11, 2024

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
November 11, 2024
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Bray Falls
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 152 words

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Topics in this entry

Comets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: November 11 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.