Comet C/2011 L4 (Pan-STARRS). Comets are bodies of ice and dust that enter the inner solar system from the outer solar system. As they approach the Su

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Comet C/2011 L4 (Pan-STARRS). Comets are bodies of ice and dust that enter the inner solar system from the outer solar system. As they approach the Sun, the heat boils the ice, producing a coma around the nucleus, along with a tail stretching out behind it. Comet C/2011 L4 was discovered on 6 June 2011 by the Pan-STARRS telescope on Maui, Hawaii. A bright comet, it peaked at magnitude 0 near perihelion in March. It faded slowly and developed a wide tail and anti-tail, one of the longest such seen for over 50 years. This image was obtained on 31 May 2013.

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Size: 5025px × 3478px
Photo credit: © DAMIAN PEACH/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: /2011, 1, 2013, 21st, 31, anti-tail, antitail, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, boiling, century, comet, cometary, dust, fsq106, gaseous, gassing, ice, l4, nucleus, optical, pan-starrs, panstarrs, periodic, planetary, science, single, solar, space, stl-11000m, system, tail, telescope, visible