October 9, 1997
The universe has spent billions of years making things that shine. On your birthday, we celebrate one of its quieter masterpieces.
Hale-Bopp and the North American Nebula
Birthday · October 9, 1997
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
Free PNG · 1080 × 1350 · No account needed
Image rights and credit requirements apply when sharing or reusing imagery.
Date & occasion only
Change the year
APOD published October 9, 1997. Credit: J. C. Casado. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Comet Hale-Bopp's recent encounter with the inner Solar System allowed many breath-taking pictures. Above, Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed on March 8th in the constellation of Cygnus. Visible on the right in red is the North American Nebula, a bright emission nebula observable from a dark location with binoculars. The North American Nebula is about 1500 light years away, much farther than the comet, which was 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: J. C. Casado