March 22, 2013
The atoms in your body have known many forms: star core, drifting dust, ocean mineral, living cell.
Comet Castle
Birthday · March 22, 2013
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APOD published March 22, 2013. Credit: Stefan Seip. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The broad dust tail of Comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) has become a familiar sight for many northern hemisphere comet watchers, as the comet fades but rises higher above the western horizon after sunset. This view of the popular comet may seem a little fantastic, though. Sweeping away from the Sun and trailing behind the comet's orbit, the curving dust tail also seems to stream away from a shining mountaintop castle. Comet Castle might be an appropriate name in this scene, but its traditional name is Castle Hohenzollern. Taken on March 15 with an extreme telephoto lens, the Comet Castle image was captured in exceptionally clear skies about 80 kilometers away from Stuttgart, Germany. Gallery: Comet PanSTARRS
Image credit: Stefan Seip