Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Comet R3 PanSTARRS Before Rigel

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 8, 2026 is “Comet R3 PanSTARRS Before Rigel,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Jakub Kuřák & Martin Mašek ( FZU of the Czech Academy of Sciences )). The original explanation runs about 162 words.

A starfield appears with three large objects. Near the top is a bright star. Near the middle is a small light blue nebula. And near the bottom is a comet with its long tail extending to the upper left and passing in front of both the star a
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Jakub Kuřák & Martin Mašek ( FZU of the Czech Academy of Sciences ) Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Which way is Comet R3 PanSTARRS going? Not towards the star at the top of the image, because that is Rigel , which, being far in the background, is unrelated to the comet.”

— APOD editors, May 8, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 8, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Jakub Kuřák & Martin Mašek ( FZU of the Czech Academy of Sciences )
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 162 words

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Topics in this entry

NebulaeComets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 8 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.