Promoting science and technology education through spaceflight and weather balloons.

Comet R3 PanSTARRS and Orion

By |2026-05-10T16:44:24-04:00May 10th, 2026|Categories: NASA News, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Photo of the Day Orion never had a sword like this. As Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) heads out of the inner Solar System, it is putting on quite a show for long exposure cameras. Currently seen toward the constellation of Orion the Hunter, the distant Orion Nebula is visible on the upper right. Comet [...]

Comet R3 PanSTARRS Before Rigel

By |2026-05-08T16:44:46-04:00May 8th, 2026|Categories: NASA News, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Photo of the Day Which way is Comet R3 PanSTARRS going? Not towards the star at the top of the image, because that is Rigel, which, being far in the background, is unrelated to the comet. Not through the nebula in the image middle, because that is the Witch Head Nebula and it, too, [...]

Comet R3 PanSTARRS Behind Satellite Trails

By |2026-04-27T16:44:25-04:00April 27th, 2026|Categories: NASA News, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Photo of the Day Can you find the comet? Somewhere through this web of satellite trails is Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS), a bright visitor passing through the inner Solar System. Now, the orbiting satellites themselves only appear as streaks because of the long camera exposure, over 10 minutes in this case. On the contrary, [...]

Comet R3 PanSTARRS over a Himalayan Valley

By |2026-04-20T16:44:26-04:00April 20th, 2026|Categories: NASA News, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Photo of the Day The best way to see comet R3 PanSTARRS’s long tail is with a camera. This week, the recently brightened comet appears in northern skies to the east just before dawn, but is only barely visible to the unaided eye. The many-degree ion tail captured on long duration camera exposures is [...]

The Long Wispy Tail of Comet R3 (PanSTARRS)

By |2026-04-14T16:44:29-04:00April 14th, 2026|Categories: NASA News, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Photo of the Day Why does Comet R3 (PanSTARRS) have a wispy tail? The newest bright member of the inner Solar System, Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) is already extending an impressive stream of glowing gas. This tail starts from an unseen central nucleus of dirty ice that is likely a few kilometers across. The [...]

Comet Lemmon and the Milky Way

By |2025-11-25T15:44:24-05:00November 25th, 2025|Categories: NASA News, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Photo of the Day What did Comet Lemmon look like when it was at its best? One example is pictured here, featuring three celestial spectacles all at different distances. The closest spectacle is the snowcapped Meili Mountains, part of the Himalayas in China. The middle marvel is Comet Lemmon near its picturesque best early [...]

New Comet SWAN25B over Mexico

By |2025-09-16T13:44:24-04:00September 16th, 2025|Categories: NASA News, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Photo of the Day A newly discovered comet is already visible with binoculars. The comet, C/2025 R2 (SWAN) and nicknamed SWAN25B, is brightening significantly as it emerges from the Sun's direction and might soon become visible on your smartphone -- if not your eyes. Although the brightnesses of comets are notoriously hard to predict, [...]

Comet G3 ATLAS Setting over a Chilean Hill

By |2025-02-05T08:09:10-05:00February 5th, 2025|Categories: NASA News, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Photo of the Day Where is Comet ATLAS going? In the featured time-lapse video, the comet is not itself moving very much, but the Earth's rotation makes it appear to be setting over a hill. The Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) sequence was captured with an ordinary camera on January 22 from the Araucanía Region [...]

Comet G3 ATLAS over Uruguay

By |2025-01-28T08:09:07-05:00January 28th, 2025|Categories: NASA News, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Photo of the Day Comets can be huge. When far from the Sun, a comet's size usually refers to its hard nucleus of ice and rock, which typically spans a few kilometers -- smaller than even a small moon. When nearing the Sun, however, this nucleus can eject dust and gas and leave a [...]

The Many Tails of Comet G3 ATLAS

By |2025-01-26T08:09:08-05:00January 26th, 2025|Categories: NASA News, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |

Photo of the Day Why does this comet have so many tails? C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) has developed several long and intricate tails visible from Earth's southern hemisphere over the past two weeks. Many observers reported seeing the impressive comet without any optical aid above the western horizon just after sunset. At least six different [...]

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