Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

R3 PanSTARRS: An Orion Comet

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 15, 2026 is “R3 PanSTARRS: An Orion Comet,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Chester Hall-Fernandez). The original explanation runs about 160 words.

A starfield appears featuring many bright stars, red nebula, and a comet. Snow covered mountains cover the foreground. The comet appears on the upper left with a tail the goes upward and right through a bright star. Please see the explanati
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Chester Hall-Fernandez Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Comet R3 PanSTARRS might be best remembered as an Orion comet. A key reason is because Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) was near its most spectacular — in terms of tail visibility — when passing in front of the iconic constellation .”

— APOD editors, May 15, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 15, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Chester Hall-Fernandez
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 160 words

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Topics in this entry

OrionComets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 15 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.