Comet Leonards Tail Wag

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January 10, 2022.

Leonard's tail wag.

The image is from NASA, STEREO-A, and Processing.

Why does Leonard's tail wag? The video shows the ion tail of the comet as it changed over a ten day period. The video was taken by the STEREO-A, a NASA mission that co-ordinates the Sun with the Earth. Each image in this field was subtracted from the next to create frames that highlight differences. The video clearly shows the ion tail of comet Leonard being blown around by the solar wind, which is a stream of fast- moving ion particles. Since the video was taken, the comet continued to plunge toward the Sun.

The Best APOD Space Images of 2021 will be presented on Tuesday.

Tomorrow's picture is around orion.

Robert Nemiroff is an author and Jerry Bonnell is an editor.

Phillip Newman has specific rights.

NASA has a privacy policy on the internet.

There is a service at NASA.

& Michigan Tech. U.