Astronomy Picture of the Day - Comet R3 PanSTARRS over a Himalayan Valley

NASA ^ | 20 Apr, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Basudeb Chakrabarti & Samit Saha

[MtnClimber]

Explanation: 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 not unusual for a comet - it is primarily due to the Earth's nearly sideways view of the tail as it points away from the Sun. In the featured image taken last week, Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) showed off its flowing tail through a valley between two peaks in the Himalayan mountains of India. The comet passed its closest to the Sun yesterday. As it nears its closest approach to Earth next week, a bushy dust tail may become visible. The comet is slowly moving out of northern skies and by the end of the month will be visible after sunset in southern skies as it fades and leaves our Solar System.

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TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa

[MtnClimber]

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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.

[MtnClimber]

[MtnClimber]

Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

[NavyShoe]

Not exactly comet Kohoutek.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Can’t these comets show up later in the day so I don’t have to get up so early? *SMIRK*

Nice shot, actually. I took one of the crescent Moon and Venus below it last night. If it turns out well, I’ll post it.

[telescope115]

Kohoutek was a disappointment. I was able to find Halley, but it was faint.