Comet C/2011 L4 (Pan-STARRS) with the star Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris). Comets are bodies of ice and dust that enter the inner solar system from the o

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Comet C/2011 L4 (Pan-STARRS) with the star Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris). Comets are bodies of ice and dust that enter the inner solar system from the outer solar system. As they approach the Sun, the ice boils, producing a coma around the nucleus and a tail 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. Kochab (magnitude ) is 130 light years from Earth in the constellation of Ursa Minor. This moonlit image was obtained on 19 June 2013.

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Size: 4721px × 3744px
Photo credit: © DAMIAN PEACH/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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