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                           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.   
      
                                  2023 January 27   
      
                         Comet ZTF: Orbital Plane Crossing   
                      Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett   
      
      Explanation: The current darling of the northern night, Comet C/2022 E3   
      ZTF is captured in this telescopic image from a dark sky location at   
      June Lake, California. Of course Comet ZTF has been growing brighter in   
      recent days, headed for its closest approach to Earth on February 1.   
      But this view was recorded on January 23, very close to the time planet   
      Earth crossed the orbital plane of long-period Comet ZTF. The comet's   
      broad, whitish dust tail is still curved and fanned out away from the   
      Sun as Comet ZTF sweeps along its orbit. Due to perspective near the   
      orbital plane crossing, components of the fanned out dust tail appear   
      on both sides of the comet's green tinted coma though, to lend Comet   
      ZTF a visually striking (left) anti-tail. Buffeted by solar activity   
      the comet's narrower ion tail also streams away from the coma   
      diagonally to the right, across the nearly three degree wide field of   
      view.   
      
                       Tomorrow's picture: over the mountain   
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