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Credit & Copyright: Tara Mostofi
Explanation:
They are both falling.
The water in
Yosemite Falls,
California,
USA,
is falling toward the Earth.
Comet ZTF is falling toward the
Sun.
This double cosmic cascade was captured late last month as fading
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
had just passed its closest to planet Earth.
The orange star just over the falls is
Kochab.
With the exception of a brief encounter with a
black bear, the
featured image was a
well-planned composite of a moonlit-foreground
and long-duration background exposures -
all designed to reconstruct a deep version of an actual single sight.
Although Comet
ZTF is
now fading as it glides back to the outer
Solar System, its path is
determined by gravity
and so it can be considered to still be falling toward the Sun --
but backwards.
Comet ZTF Gallery:
Notable Submissions to APOD
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: comet
Publications with words: comet
See also:
- Comet C/2025 F2 SWAN
- APOD: 2025 February 5 Á Comet G3 ATLAS Setting over a Chilean Hill
- APOD: 2025 February 2 Á Comet G3 ATLAS Disintegrates
- APOD: 2025 January 28 Á Comet G3 ATLAS over Uruguay
- APOD: 2025 January 26 Á The Many Tails of Comet G3 ATLAS
- Comet G3 ATLAS: a Tail and a Telescope
- APOD: 2025 January 21 Á Comet ATLAS over Brasilia