                        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.

                                2022 June 30

                         Comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS)
           Image Credit & Copyright: Jose J. Chambo (Cometografia)

   Explanation: Imaged on June 20 2022, comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) shares
   this wide telescopic field of view with open star cluster IC 4665 and
   bright star Beta Ophiuchi, near a starry edge of the Milky Way. On its
   maiden voyage to the inner Solar System from the dim and distant Oort
   cloud, this comet PanSTARRS was initially spotted over five years ago,
   in May 2017. Then it was the most distant active inbound comet ever
   found, discovered when it was some 2.4 billion kilometers from the Sun.
   That put it between the orbital distances of Uranus and Saturn. Hubble
   Space Telescope observations indicated the comet had a large nucleus
   less than 18 kilometers in diameter. Now visible in small telescopes
   C/2017 K2 will make its closest approach to planet Earth on July 14 and
   closest approach to the Sun this December. Its extended coma and
   developing tail are seen here at a distance of some 290 million
   kilometers, a mere 16 light-minutes away.

                   Tomorrow's picture: solar system trails
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

