Comet C/2013 X1. 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 b

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Comet C/2013 X1. 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. This comet was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS) in 2013. It will reach perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 20 April 2016. This image was obtained on 4 January 2016.

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Photo credit: © DAMIAN PEACH/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: -, /2013, 1, 21st, 4, 2016, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, c2013, century, coma, comet, cometary, dust, gaseous, ice, january, nucleus, optical, panoramic, panstarrs, planetary, rapid, response, science, single, solar, space, survey, system, tail, telescope, visible, x1