Comet Catalina C/2013 US10, California

Comet Catalina C/2013 US10

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Comet Catalina C/2013 US10
Panamint Springs, California   –   January 11, 2016
— Ralph Paonessa

The glow around the comet is the coma, a diffuse cloud of vaporized water and dust.

The comet has two tails. The longer tail pointing to the right is a stream of ionized gas which points away from the sun, pushed by the solar wind. The brighter dust tail is caused by debris that splinters off the comet as the sun's rays cause the ice to vaporize and release dust that is left behind as the comet orbits the sun.

Several background galaxies are visible, including NGC 5407, NGC 5407, NGC 5350, NGC 5353, NGC 5354, NGC 5355, NGC 5358, NGC 5371.

EOS 6D on Takahashi FSQ-106EDX III refractor, sidereal tracking on stars. ISO 1600. Single calibrated 7 min exposure in constellation Canes Venatici.

Photo ID: C_2013 US10 Catalina PGC 2151848 Linked Photo Light 00000357 420secs 14C RGB VNG