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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 December 21   
      
                            Three Galaxies and a Comet   
                      Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett   
      
      Explanation: Distant galaxies abound in this one degree wide field of   
      view toward the southern constellation Grus (The Crane). But the three   
      spiral galaxies at the lower right are quite striking. In fact, all   
      three galaxies are grouped about 70 million light years away and   
      sometimes known as the Grus Triplet. They share the pretty telescopic   
      frame, recorded on December 13, with the comet designated C/2020 V2   
      ZTF. Now outbound from the inner Solar System and swinging below the   
      ecliptic plane in a hyperbolic orbit, the comet was about 29   
      light-minutes from our fair planet in this image. And though comet ZTF   
      was brighter when it was closest to the Sun last May and closest to   
      Earth in September of 2023, it still shines in telescopes pointed   
      toward southern night skies, remaining almost as bright as the Grus   
      Triplet galaxies.   
      
                     Tomorrow's picture: solstice solargraphy   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
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                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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