April 3, 2013
You were born on a tiny world orbiting an ordinary star in an unremarkable galaxy — and yet, the fact that you exist at all is the most...
Comet PANSTARRS and the Andromeda Galaxy
Birthday · April 3, 2013
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APOD published April 3, 2013. Credit: Pavel Smilyk. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Currently, comet PANSTARRS is passing nearly in front of the galaxy Andromeda. Coincidentally, both comet and galaxy appear now to be just about the same angular size. In physical size, even though Comet PANSTARRS is currently the largest object in the Solar System with a tail spanning about 15 times the diameter of the Sun, it is still about 70 billion times smaller than the Andromeda galaxy (M31). The above image was captured on March 30, near Syktyvkar, Russia. As C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) on the lower left recedes from the Sun and dims, it is returning to the northerly direction whence it came. When the comet will return is currently unknown, although humans may have merged with computers by then. Gallery: Comet PANSTARRS
Image credit: Pavel Smilyk