MSGID: 1:153/757.0 d80d2948   
   TZUTC: -0800   
   CHRS: LATIN-1 2   
                           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 February 10   
      
                                  ZTF meets ATLAS   
                     Image Credit & Copyright: Stefan Bemmerl   
      
      Explanation: Fading as it races across planet Earth's northern skies   
      comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) shares this telescopic frame with comet C/2022 U2   
      (ATLAS). Captured on the night of February 6 from a garden observatory   
      in Germany's Bavarian Forest, the starry field of view toward the   
      constellation Auriga spans about 2.5 degrees. Discovered by sky survey   
      projects in 2022 (the Zwicky Transient Facility and the Asteroid   
      Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) these long-period comets are   
      outbound, reaching perihelion just last month. The much fainter comet   
      ATLAS made its closest approach to our fair planet on January 29 at a   
      distance of about 4.6 light-minutes, compared to a mere 2.4   
      light-minutes for comet ZTF on February 2. This comet ATLAS lacks the   
      well-developed tails of the formerly naked-eye comet ZTF. But both   
      comets sport greenish tinted comas, emission from diatomic carbon   
      molecules fluorescing in sunlight. Continuing its dash across planet   
      Earth's sky, the good-binocular comet ZTF will appear close to bright   
      planet Mars tonight.   
      
                         Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
                   NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices   
                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6   
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)   
   SEEN-BY: 1/123 10/0 1 15/0 90/1 92/1 102/401 103/1 17 705 105/81 106/201   
   SEEN-BY: 120/340 123/131 129/305 134/100 153/135 143 757 6809 7715   
   SEEN-BY: 214/22 218/0 1 215 650 700 810 840 850 860 870 880 900 221/1   
   SEEN-BY: 221/6 226/30 227/114 229/110 111 112 113 114 206 307 317   
   SEEN-BY: 229/400 424 426 428 470 664 700 240/1120 266/512 282/1038   
   SEEN-BY: 301/1 113 812 317/3 320/219 322/757 335/364 341/66 342/200   
   SEEN-BY: 396/45 460/58 633/280 712/848 4500/1 5020/1042   
   PATH: 153/757 221/6 301/1 218/700 229/426