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.
2026 April 20
Explanation:
The best way to see comet R3 PanSTARRS’s long tail is with a camera.
This week, the
recently brightened comet
appears in northern skies to the east just before dawn,
but is only barely visible to the unaided eye.
The many-degree
ion tail captured on long duration camera exposures
is not unusual for a comet –
it is primarily due to the
Earth‘s nearly sideways
view of the tail as it points away from the Sun.
In the
featured image taken last week, Comet
C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) showed off its flowing tail
through a valley between two peaks in the
Himalayan mountains of
India.
The comet passed its closest to
the Sun yesterday.
As it nears its closest approach to Earth next week, a
bushy
dust tail may become visible.
The comet is slowly moving out of northern skies
and by the end of the month
will be visible after sunset
in southern skies as it fades and
leaves our
Solar System.