Posted on 05/10/2026 12:33:50 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Orion never had a sword like this. As Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) heads out of the inner Solar System, it is putting on quite a show for long exposure cameras. Currently seen toward the constellation of Orion the Hunter, the distant Orion Nebula is visible on the upper right. Comet R3 PanSTARRS is now showing two distinct tails: a short dust tail pointing toward the top of the image and a long and wavy ion tail trailing off toward the upper left. The ion tail points away from the Sun and glows blue from excited carbon monoxide. Large particles in the dust tail somewhat resist the radiation pressure that push them away from the Sun and so retain a bit of the comet's orbit. The dust tail shines by reflected sunlight. The featured image was taken a few days ago from France's Reunion Island in the southern Indian Ocean.
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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.
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Sorry, the annotated version of the photo, with name tags on objects, did not post correctly.
That looks like a cheeseburger being attacked by a blue weasel.
It may be a cheeseburger being fired upon by vegan extraterrestrial snipers.
Nice!
Utilizing deadly blue weasels, because there weren't any Andean hanta-mice available.
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