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                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 October 6
    A starry sky is pictured just after sunset. The silhouette of plants
   and a distant landscape covers the bottom of the picture. Spanning most
   of the frame is a comet with an amazingly long and complex tail. Please
             see the explanation for more detailed information.

                   The Magnificent Tail of Comet McNaught
                Image Credit & Copyright: Robert H. McNaught

   Explanation: Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, grew a
   spectacularly long and filamentary tail. The magnificent tail spread
   across the sky and was visible for several days to Southern Hemisphere
   observers just after sunset. The amazing ion tail showed its greatest
   extent on long-duration, wide-angle camera exposures. During some
   times, just the tail itself was visible just above the horizon for many
   northern observers as well. Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught), estimated to
   have attained a peak brightness of magnitude -5 (minus five), was
   caught by the comet's discoverer in the featured image just after
   sunset in January 2007 from Siding Spring Observatory in Australia.
   Comet McNaught, the brightest comet in decades, then faded as it moved
   further into southern skies and away from the Sun and Earth. Over the
   next month, Comet TsuchinshanCÇôATLAS, a candidate for the Great Comet of
   2024, should display its most spectacular tails visible from the Earth.

                    Tomorrow's picture: eclipsed sunrise
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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