Comet Pons-Brooks Develops Opposing Tails

Explanation: Why does Comet Pons-Brooks now have tails pointing in opposite directions? The most spectacular tail is the blue-glowing ion tail that is visible flowing down the image. The ion tail is pushed directly out from the Sun by the solar wind . On the upper right is the glowing central coma of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks . Fanning out from the coma , mostly to the left, is the comet's dust tail . Pushed out and slowed down by the pressure of sunlight , the dust tail tends to trail the comet along its orbit and, from some viewing angles , can appear opposite to the ion tail. The distant, bright star Alpha Leporis is seen at the bottom of the featured image captured last week from Namibia . Two days ago, the comet passed its closest to the Earth and is now best visible from southern skies as it dims and glides back to the outer Solar System .