                        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.

                              2023 December 21

                         Three Galaxies and a Comet
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett

   Explanation: Distant galaxies abound in this one degree wide field of
   view toward the southern constellation Grus (The Crane). But the three
   spiral galaxies at the lower right are quite striking. In fact, all
   three galaxies are grouped about 70 million light years away and
   sometimes known as the Grus Triplet. They share the pretty telescopic
   frame, recorded on December 13, with the comet designated C/2020 V2
   ZTF. Now outbound from the inner Solar System and swinging below the
   ecliptic plane in a hyperbolic orbit, the comet was about 29
   light-minutes from our fair planet in this image. And though comet ZTF
   was brighter when it was closest to the Sun last May and closest to
   Earth in September of 2023, it still shines in telescopes pointed
   toward southern night skies, remaining almost as bright as the Grus
   Triplet galaxies.

                  Tomorrow's picture: solstice solargraphy
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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