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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Comet PanSTARRs and Rainbow Meteor
NASA ^ | 3 Nov. 2026 | Credit & Copyright Eddy Metais

Posted on 11/03/2026 1:49:35 PM PST by MtnClimber

Explanation: Did this meteor come from that comet? Probably not. Although many meteors do originate from comets, there are thousands of comets that have visited the inner Solar System recently, and matching meteors to them can be tricky. And to be clear, the pictured comet is far behind the streaking meteor. Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) was captured from Hautacam, France in April when the giant space iceberg sported impressive ion (blue) and dust tails. Sand-sized rocky debris that enters Earth’s atmosphere typically appears as meteors, while the colorful foreground streak here may indicate a complicated composition. This month three notable meteor showers will reach their peaks. Over the next few days, the Southern Taurids will be reaching their apex, while the Northern Taurids will top out about a week later. Both originate from Comet 2P/Encke. November is most famous for the Leonids Meteor Shower, though, which originates from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle and will reach its crescendo in about two weeks.


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

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1 posted on 11/03/2026 1:49:35 PM PST by MtnClimber
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2 posted on 11/03/2026 1:50:02 PM 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: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 31R1O; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; ...
Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

3 posted on 11/03/2026 1:50:57 PM 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

Wow.


4 posted on 11/03/2026 2:15:38 PM PST by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as )
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To: MtnClimber

Here.


5 posted on 11/03/2026 2:30:07 PM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Am Yisrael Chai ~)
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To: MtnClimber

Makes me feel puny to contemplate political stupidity on one little blue orb in the outer portions of the Milky Way, compared to all this magnificence.


6 posted on 11/03/2026 2:55:25 PM PST by AFB-XYZ
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To: MtnClimber

Quite simply, beautiful.


7 posted on 11/03/2026 3:24:33 PM PST by telescope115 (Ad Astra, Ad Deum…)
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To: MtnClimber

Those are aliens starships fighting each other. You can see the return fire.


8 posted on 11/03/2026 10:27:37 PM PST by minnesota_bound (Making money now. Still want much more.)
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