Comet, Planet, Moon
Three bright objects satisfied seasoned stargazers of the western sky just after sunset earlier this month. The most familiar was the Moon , seen on the upper left in a crescent phase . The rest of the Moon was faintly visible by sunlight first reflected by the Earth . The bright planet Jupiter , the largest planet in the Solar System , is seen to the upper left. Most unusual was Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks , below the Moon and showing a stubby dust tail on the right but an impressive ion tail extending upwards . The featured image, a composite of several images taken consecutively at the same location and with the same camera, was taken near the village of Llers , in Spain 's Girona province . Comet Pons-Brooks passed its closest to the Sun last week and is now dimming as it moves into southern skies and returns to the outer Solar System. Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator