Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Mon Mar 18 2024 00:26:14

                        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 March 18
   A comet is pictured with a really long and wavy ion tail. The front of
   the comet -- its coma -- appears to be a spiral. The coma is green, the
      tail is faint blue, and part of the swirl is red. Please see the
                 explanation for more detailed information.

                      Comet Pons-Brooks' Swirling Coma
                Image Credit & Copyright: Jan Erik Vallestad

   Explanation: A bright comet will be visible during next month's total
   solar eclipse. This very unusual coincidence occurs because Comet
   12P/Pons-Brooks's return to the inner Solar System places it by chance
   only 25 degrees away from the Sun during Earth's April 8 total solar
   eclipse. Currently the comet is just on the edge of visibility to the
   unaided eye, best visible with binoculars in the early evening sky
   toward the constellation of the Fish (Pisces). Comet Pons-Brooks,
   though, is putting on quite a show for deep camera images even now. The
   featured image is a composite of three very specific colors, showing
   the comet's ever-changing ion tail in light blue, its outer coma in
   green, and highlights some red-glowing gas around the coma in a spiral.
   The spiral is thought to be caused by gas being expelled by the slowly
   rotating nucleus of the giant iceberg comet. Although it is always
   difficult to predict the future brightness of comets, Comet Pons-Brook
   has been particularly prone to outbursts, making it even more difficult
   to predict how bright it will actually be as the Moon moves in front of
   the Sun on April 8.

           Total Eclipse Info: 2024 Total Solar Eclipse from NASA
                       Tomorrow's picture: sunset road
     __________________________________________________________________

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

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