October 3, 2004
The universe has spent billions of years making things that shine. On your birthday, we celebrate one of its quieter masterpieces.
Comet Hale-Bopp and the North America Nebula
Birthday · October 3, 2004
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APOD published October 3, 2004. Credit: Juan Carlos Casado. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Comet Hale-Bopp's 1997 encounter with the inner Solar System allowed many breath-taking pictures. Above, Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed crossing the constellation of Cygnus, sporting spectacular yellow dust and blue ion tails. Visible on the right in red is the North America Nebula, a bright emission nebula observable from a dark location with binoculars. The North America Nebula is about 1500 light-years away, much farther than the comet, which was only about 8 light minutes away. Several bright blue stars from the open cluster M39 are visible just above the comet's blue ion tail.
Image credit: Juan Carlos Casado