Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                              2025 November 25
   [2]A night skyscape is shown over snowcapped mountains. On the left is
   the band of the Milky Way Galaxy, while on the right is a bright comet
   with two tails -- a white tail going up and trailing to the right and a
   longer blue tail going up and trailing off to the left. Please see the
                 explanation for more detailed information.

                       Comet Lemmon and the Milky Way
          Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Lin Zixuan ([4]Tsinghua U.)

   Explanation: 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
   [5]Meili Mountains, part of the [6]Himalayas in [7]China. The middle
   [8]marvel is Comet Lemmon near its [9]picturesque best early this
   month, showing not only a white [10]dust tail trailing off to the right
   but its blue solar wind-distorted [11]ion tail trailing off to the
   left. Far in the distance on the left is the magnificent central plane
   of our [12]Milky Way Galaxy, featuring [13]dark dust, [14]red nebula,
   and including billions of [15]Sun-like stars. [16]Comet C/2025 A6
   (Lemmon) is already fading as it heads back into the outer Solar
   System, while the [17]Himalayan mountains will gradually [18]erode over
   the next billion years. The [19]Milky Way Galaxy, though, will live on
   -- forming [20]new mountains and comets -- for many billions of years
   into the future.

                   Tomorrow's picture: huge ball of stars
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([35]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [36]Specific rights apply.
            [37]NASA Web Privacy, [38]Accessibility, [39]Notices;
                A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC,
                         [43]NASA Science Activation
                           & [44]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2511/MilkyLemmon_Zixuan_5008.jpg
   3. mailto: linzx23 at mails.tsinghua.edu dot cn
   4. https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/en/
   5. https://youtu.be/YylNkfmGNAQ
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayas
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
   8. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https://i.redd.it/ahodrl8j7b351.jpg
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251117.html
  10. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/C/cometary+dust+tail
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240326.html
  12. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/the-milky-way-galaxy/
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051004.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240214.html
  15. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2025_A6_(Lemmon)
  17. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/earth/birth.html
  18. https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/topics/land-surface/erosion-sedimentation
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241105.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210303.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251124.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  27. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  30. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=251125
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251126.html
  32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  40. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  43. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  44. http://www.mtu.edu/