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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.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Introducing Comet Lee

Explanation: Another large snowball is falling toward the Sun. Comet Lee was discovered two weeks ago by Steve Lee ( AAO ) in Australia , and is expected to brighten as it approaches the inner Solar System . Comet Lee is not expected to become a naked-eye object, though, with recent projections guessing it will peak at magnitude 7 in July. Starting in May, the large piece of dirty ice officially known as Comet C/1999 H1 Lee will be visible to northern observers. Comet Lee is the fuzzy patch in the above picture taken on April 16 from Loomberah , Australia.

Date April 27, 1999
Credit Credit & Copyright: Gordon Garradd
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.