APOD: 2026 June 8 – Comet R3 PanSTARRS Through Time
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 June 8
Comet R3 PanSTARRS Through Time
Image Credit & Copyright:
Jakub Kuřák &
Martin Mašek
(FZU of the Czech Academy of Sciences)
Explanation:
What happens to a comet as it leaves our inner Solar System?
Now, the arrival of a comet into the inner
Solar System is typically heralded with great fanfare and high hopes that the comet will become
bright and
photogenic.
But on the way out, the
comet’s nucleus is less warmed by
the Sun,
less gas and dust are
expelled, the bright
coma around the
nucleus shrinks and fades, and the
tail length drops off.
Many comets will then return to the
outer Solar System and only return in hundreds or thousands of years.
In contrast, some comets — like Comet
C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) — receive a
gravitational kick from the planets and so will never return.
Pictured,
Comet R3 PanSTARRs
was imaged deeply many nights in early to mid-May
near Cerro Paranal in
Chile.
Later images appear closer to the top and clearly show the shrinking
ion tail.
Comet R3 Gallery:
Comet R3 PanSTARRS in 2026
Tomorrow’s picture: heady Thor
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
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