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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.   
      
                                   2024 April 17   
      The totally eclipsed Sun from 2024 April 8 is shown in the center. Two   
       comets and two planets are also visible, and labeled as 12P, Mercury,   
      SOHO-5008, and Venus. The two comets are shown in expanded form at the   
       top in two inset images. Please see the explanation for more detailed   
                                   information.   
      
                             Total Eclipse and Comets   
                Image Credit & Copyright: Lin Zixuan (Tsinghua U.)   
      
      Explanation: Not one, but two comets appeared near the Sun during last   
      week's total solar eclipse. The expected comet was Comet   
      12P/Pons-Brooks, but it was disappointingly dimmer than many had hoped.   
      However, relatively unknown Comet SOHO-5008 also appeared in long   
      duration camera exposures. This comet was the 5008th comet identified   
      on images taken by ESA & NASA's Sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft. Likely   
      much smaller, Comet SOHO-5008 was a sungrazer which disintegrated   
      within hours as it passed too near the Sun. The featured image is not   
      only unusual for capturing two comets during an eclipse, but one of the   
      rare times that a sungrazing comet has been photographed from the   
      Earth's surface. Also visible in the image is the sprawling corona of   
      our Sun and the planets Mercury (left) and Venus (right). Of these   
      planets and comets, only Venus was easily visible to millions of people   
      in the dark shadow of the Moon that crossed North America on April 8.   
      
      Solar Eclipse Imagery: Notable Submissions to APOD Tomorrow's picture:   
                                    open space   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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