Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Mon Apr 29 2024 00:13:12

                        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 April 29
   A starry sky is seen over a dark grassy landscape. Three bright objects
     are seen in the sky. They are Jupiter on the upper left, a crescent
     Moon on the upper right, and Comet Pons-Brooks below them, making a
    triangle. Two tails are seen extending nearly upwards from the comet.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                             Comet, Planet, Moon
      Image Credit & Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado (Starry Earth, TWAN)

   Explanation: Three bright objects satisfied seasoned stargazers of the
   western sky just after sunset earlier this month. The most familiar was
   the Moon, seen on the upper left in a crescent phase. The rest of the
   Moon was faintly visible by sunlight first reflected by the Earth. The
   bright planet Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, is seen
   to the upper left. Most unusual was Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, below the
   Moon and showing a stubby dust tail on the right but an impressive ion
   tail extending upwards. The featured image, a composite of several
   images taken consecutively at the same location and with the same
   camera, was taken near the village of Llers, in Spain's Girona
   province. Comet Pons-Brooks passed its closest to the Sun last week and
   is now dimming as it moves into southern skies and returns to the outer
   Solar System.

                  Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator
                      Tomorrow's picture: nova surprise
     __________________________________________________________________

       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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