Astronomy Picture of the Day · December 30, 2025

An Artificial Comet

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 30, 2025 is “An Artificial Comet,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Wang Chao). The original explanation runs about 112 words.

A star filled sky shows bands of green and purple sky glow. In the foreground is a grassy field with clouds on the horizon. Most remarkably, a series of short streaks appear like a comet's tail up from the horizon toward the upper left. Ple — Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Wang Chao Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Yes, but can your comet tail do this? No, and what you are seeing is not the tail of a comet .”

— APOD editors, December 30, 2025

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: December 30, 2025
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Wang Chao
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 112 words