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APOD
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.
Comet Hale-Bopp and the North America Nebula
Explanation: Comet Hale-Bopp 's 1997 encounter with the inner Solar System allowed many breath-taking pictures . Above , Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed crossing the constellation of Cygnus, sporting spectacular yellow dust and blue ion tails . Visible on the right in red is the North America Nebula , a bright emission nebula observable from a dark location with binoculars. The North America Nebula is about 1500 light-years away, much farther than the comet, which was only about 8 light minutes away. Several bright blue stars from the open cluster M39 are visible just above the comet's blue ion tail .
| Date | October 3, 2004 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit & Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |