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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Comet G3 ATLAS over Uruguay
NASA ^ | 28 Jan, 2025 | Image Credit & Copyright: Mauricio Salazar

Posted on 01/28/2025 11:48:08 AM PST by MtnClimber

Explanation: 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 thin tail that can spread to an enormous length -- even greater than the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Pictured, C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) sports a tail of sunlight-reflecting dust and glowing gas that spans several times the apparent size of a full moon, appearing even larger on long duration camera images than to the unaided eye. The featured image shows impressive Comet ATLAS over trees and a grass field in Sierras de Mahoma, San Jose, Uruguay about a week ago. After being prominent in the sunset skies of Earth's southern hemisphere, Comet G3 ATLAS is now fading as it moves away from the Sun, making its impressive tails increasingly hard to see.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Society
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

1 posted on 01/28/2025 11:48:08 AM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 01/28/2025 11:48:26 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Why can’t we ever get great views like these?...............


3 posted on 01/28/2025 11:49:26 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; ...
Pinging the APOD list

๐Ÿช ๐ŸŒŸ ๐ŸŒŒ ๐Ÿ”

4 posted on 01/28/2025 11:49:38 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

5 posted on 01/28/2025 11:51:41 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

I think we do, but what you see in a photo is not the same as what you see with the naked eye. A camera — especially one with a long exposure time — can pick up much better detail than the eye can.


6 posted on 01/28/2025 11:53:51 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("Well, maybe I'm a little rough around the edges; inside a little hollow.โ€ -- Tom Petty, โ€œRebelsโ€)
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To: MtnClimber
C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)

That's an awful name. Rename it The Comet of America.

7 posted on 01/28/2025 12:14:56 PM PST by KarlInOhio (โ€œForget it, Jake. It's California.โ€)
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To: Red Badger
Why canโ€™t we ever get great views like these?...

Hale-Bopp back in 1997 was pretty spectacular and stayed visible a long time. Being a good photographer/photo editor helps too.

8 posted on 01/28/2025 12:38:13 PM PST by fidelis (๐Ÿ‘ˆ Under no obligation to respond to rude, ignorant, abusive, bellicose, and obnoxious posts.)
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To: MtnClimber

Wow.


9 posted on 01/28/2025 12:41:19 PM PST by No name given ( Anonymous is who youโ€™ll know me as)
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To: MtnClimber

Awesome!๐Ÿ˜ฎ๐Ÿ™‚


10 posted on 01/28/2025 12:47:18 PM PST by telescope115 (I NEED MY SPACE!!! ๐Ÿ”ญ)
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To: Red Badger

Sierras de Mahoma in Uruguay is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. No accompanying light pollution.

Come to think of it, most of UY is out in the middle of nowhere. < |:)~


11 posted on 01/29/2025 3:54:25 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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