                        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.

                               2023 January 31
      Comet ZTF is shown high above and far beyond a row of silhouetted
        trees. The top inset image shows how the comet looked through
     binoculars, while the lower inset image shows how the comet looked,
     last week, thought a small telescope. The lower inset image clearly
   shows the comets coma, dust tail, ion tail, and a noticeable antitail.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                         A Triple View of Comet ZTF
          Image Credit & Copyright: Javier Caldera & Miguel Gracia

   Explanation: Comet ZTF has a distinctive shape. The now bright comet
   visiting the inner Solar System has been showing not only a common dust
   tail, ion tail, and green gas coma, but also an uncommonly distinctive
   antitail. The antitail does not actually lead the comet -- it is just
   that the head of the comet is seen superposed on part of the fanned-out
   and trailing dust tail. The giant dirty snowball that is Comet C/2022
   E3 (ZTF) has now passed its closest to the Sun and tomorrow will pass
   its closest to the Earth. The main panel of the featured triple image
   shows how Comet ZTF looked last week to the unaided eye under a dark
   and clear sky over Cáceres, Spain. The top inset image shows how the
   comet looked through binoculars, while the lower inset shows how the
   comet looked through a small telescope. The comet is now visible all
   night long from northern latitudes but will surely fade from easy
   observation during the next few weeks.

               Comet ZTF Gallery: Notable Submissions to APOD
                Tomorrow's picture: planets real and imagined
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

