Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                                2023 March 24
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                             Outbound Comet ZTF
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: Rolando Ligustri

   Explanation: [4]Former darling of the northern sky Comet C/2022E3 (ZTF)
   has [5]faded. During its closest approach to our fair planet in
   [6]early February Comet ZTF was a mere 2.3 light-minutes distant. Then
   known as the green comet, this visitor from the [7]remote Oort Cloud is
   now nearly 13.3 light-minutes away. In this deep image, composed of
   exposures [8]captured on March 21, the comet still sports a broad,
   whitish dust tail and greenish tinted coma though. Not far [9]on the
   sky from Orion's bright star Rigel, Comet ZTF shares the field of view
   with faint, dusty nebulae and distant background galaxies. The
   telephoto frame is crowded with Milky Way stars toward the
   constellation Eridanus. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on the
   comet's orbit as ZTF headed for the inner solar system, may have set
   the comet on an outbound journey, [10]never to return.

                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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    Authors & editors: [22]Robert Nemiroff ([23]MTU) & [24]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([25]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [26]Specific rights apply.
              [27]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [28]ASD at [29]NASA / [30]GSFC,
                         [31]NASA Science Activation
                           & [32]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2303/C2022E3_230321.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.172146088847310
   5. http://aerith.net/comet/catalog/2022E3/2022E3.html
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230210.html
   7. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/oort-cloud/in-depth/
   8. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6646932448668479&set=ecnf.100000553682989
   9. https://theskylive.com/c2022e3-info
  10. https://www.adlerplanetarium.org/blog/does-comet-c-2022-e3-ztf-have-a-hyperbolic-orbit-or-a-50000-year-orbit/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230323.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  15. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  20. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230324
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230325.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  25. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  27. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  28. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  31. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  32. http://www.mtu.edu/