This image may not be used on retail merchandise in the Comet Hyakutake. Optical image of comet Hyakutake in a starry sky. This comet, also kno

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This image may not be used on retail merchandise in the Comet Hyakutake. Optical image of comet Hyakutake in a starry sky. This comet, also known as 1996 B2, was one of the brightest comets of the 20th century. A comet is a ball of water ice and dust, which has a highly elliptical orbit around the Sun. They develop a tail of vaporised gas and dust when they approach the Sun. It always points away from the Sun due to the direction of the solar wind. The tail may stretch for millions of kilometres. Hyakutake was closest to Earth on 25 March 1996, when it was 15 million kilometres away. Photographed on 29 March 1996.

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Size: 3521px × 2363px
Photo credit: © WALTER PACHOLKA, ASTROPICS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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