                        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 17
   The totally eclipsed Sun from 2024 April 8 is shown in the center. Two
    comets and two planets are also visible, and labeled as 12P, Mercury,
   SOHO-5008, and Venus. The two comets are shown in expanded form at the
    top in two inset images. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                          Total Eclipse and Comets
             Image Credit & Copyright: Lin Zixuan (Tsinghua U.)

   Explanation: Not one, but two comets appeared near the Sun during last
   week's total solar eclipse. The expected comet was Comet
   12P/Pons-Brooks, but it was disappointingly dimmer than many had hoped.
   However, relatively unknown Comet SOHO-5008 also appeared in long
   duration camera exposures. This comet was the 5008th comet identified
   on images taken by ESA & NASA's Sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft. Likely
   much smaller, Comet SOHO-5008 was a sungrazer which disintegrated
   within hours as it passed too near the Sun. The featured image is not
   only unusual for capturing two comets during an eclipse, but one of the
   rare times that a sungrazing comet has been photographed from the
   Earth's surface. Also visible in the image is the sprawling corona of
   our Sun and the planets Mercury (left) and Venus (right). Of these
   planets and comets, only Venus was easily visible to millions of people
   in the dark shadow of the Moon that crossed North America on April 8.

   Solar Eclipse Imagery: Notable Submissions to APOD Tomorrow's picture:
                                 open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

