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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 October 6   
       A starry sky is pictured just after sunset. The silhouette of plants   
      and a distant landscape covers the bottom of the picture. Spanning most   
      of the frame is a comet with an amazingly long and complex tail. Please   
                see the explanation for more detailed information.   
      
                      The Magnificent Tail of Comet McNaught   
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Robert H. McNaught   
      
      Explanation: Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, grew a   
      spectacularly long and filamentary tail. The magnificent tail spread   
      across the sky and was visible for several days to Southern Hemisphere   
      observers just after sunset. The amazing ion tail showed its greatest   
      extent on long-duration, wide-angle camera exposures. During some   
      times, just the tail itself was visible just above the horizon for many   
      northern observers as well. Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught), estimated to   
      have attained a peak brightness of magnitude -5 (minus five), was   
      caught by the comet's discoverer in the featured image just after   
      sunset in January 2007 from Siding Spring Observatory in Australia.   
      Comet McNaught, the brightest comet in decades, then faded as it moved   
      further into southern skies and away from the Sun and Earth. Over the   
      next month, Comet TsuchinshanCÇôATLAS, a candidate for the Great Comet of   
      2024, should display its most spectacular tails visible from the Earth.   
      
                       Tomorrow's picture: eclipsed sunrise   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          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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