                        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.

                              2024 November 11
   A starfield is shown that includes a bright comet. A bright tail points
       to the upper right but has an unusual dark streak in it. A thin
   anti-tail points toward the lower left. Please see the explanation for
                         more detailed information.

                The Unusual Tails of Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Bray Falls

   Explanation: What created an unusual dark streak in Comet
   Tsuchinshan-Atlas's tail? Some images of the bright comet during
   mid-October not only caught its impressively long tail and its thin
   anti-tail, but a rather unexpected feature: a dark streak in the long
   tail. The reason for the dark streak is currently unclear and a topic
   of some debate. Possible reasons include a plume of dark dust,
   different parts of the bright tail being unusually superposed, and a
   shadow of a dense part of the coma on smaller dust particles. The
   streak is visible in the featured image taken on October 14 from Texas,
   USA. To help future analyses, if you have taken a good image of the
   comet that clearly shows this dark streak, please send it in to APOD.
   Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS has now faded considerably and is returning to
   the outer Solar System.

                  Gallery: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in 2024
                     Tomorrow's picture: cosmic crescent
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

