December 30, 2025
The elements that make you — the calcium in your bones, the oxygen in your lungs — were scattered across space by dying stars long before...
An Artificial Comet
Birthday · December 30, 2025
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APOD published December 30, 2025. Credit: Wang Chao. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Yes, but can your comet tail do this? No, and what you are seeing is not the tail of a comet. The picture features a cleverly overlayed time-lapse sequence of a group of satellites orbiting Earth together in June. Specifically, these are Starlink communications satellites in low Earth orbit reflecting back sunlight before sunrise to Inner Mongolia, China. Although the satellites appear to the human eye as points, the 20-second-long camera exposures caused them to appear as short streaks. Currently there are over 9000 Starlinks in orbit, with more being launched nearly every week. Other satellite constellations are also being planned. Explore the Universe: Random APOD Generator
Image credit: Wang Chao