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.

                                2020 April 29

                       The Ion Tail of New Comet SWAN
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Gerald Rhemann

   Explanation: Newly discovered Comet SWAN has already developed an
   impressive tail. The comet came in from the outer Solar System and has
   just passed inside the orbit of the Earth. Officially designated C/2020
   F8 (SWAN), this outgassing interplanetary iceberg will pass its closest
   to the Earth on May 13, and closest to the Sun on May 27. The comet was
   first noticed in late March by an astronomy enthusiast looking through
   images taken by NASA's Sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft, and is named for
   this spacecraft's Solar Wind Anisotropies (SWAN) camera. The featured
   image, taken from the dark skies in Namibia in mid-April, captured
   Comet SWAN's green-glowing coma and unexpectedly long, detailed, and
   blue ion-tail. Although the brightness of comets are notoriously hard
   to predict, some models have Comet SWAN becoming bright enough to see
   with the unaided eye during June.

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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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