Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 February 21 [2]A comet with a green head and extended tails is seen above a high water fall. In the night sky field just above the falls, an orange dot -- the star Kochab -- is visible. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Comet ZTF over Yosemite Falls Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Tara Mostofi Explanation: They are both falling. The water in [4]Yosemite Falls, [5]California, [6]USA, is falling toward the Earth. [7]Comet ZTF is falling toward the [8]Sun. This double cosmic cascade was captured late last month as fading [9]Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) had just passed its closest to planet Earth. The orange star just over the falls is [10]Kochab. With the exception of a brief encounter with a [11]black bear, the [12]featured image was a [13]well-planned composite of a moonlit-foreground and long-duration background exposures - all designed to reconstruct a deep version of an actual single sight. Although [14]Comet ZTF is [15]now fading as it glides back to the outer [16]Solar System, its path is [17]determined by gravity and so it can be considered to still be falling toward the Sun -- but backwards. Comet ZTF Gallery: [18]Notable Submissions to APOD Tomorrow's picture: a surprisingly busy sun __________________________________________________________________ [19]< | [20]Archive | [21]Submissions | [22]Index | [23]Search | [24]Calendar | [25]RSS | [26]Education | [27]About APOD | [28]Discuss | [29]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [30]Robert Nemiroff ([31]MTU) & [32]Jerry Bonnell ([33]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [34]Specific rights apply. [35]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [36]ASD at [37]NASA / [38]GSFC, [39]NASA Science Activation & [40]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2302/CometZtfYosemite_Mostofi_1639.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/taramoonhunter/ 4. https://youtu.be/2x80TEw45Gs 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States 7. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.172146088847310&type=3 8. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/in-depth/ 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2022_E3_(ZTF) 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Ursae_Minoris 11. https://bear.org/how-dangerous-are-black-bears/ 12. https://www.flickr.com/photos/84642732@N02/52685564588/ 13. https://d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/11-18-2021/t_9bb7158ef7834e80b0793c26fdf6b8d5_name_DogPhone_could_offer_dogs_the_ability_to_619676d229f511256af6ffc3_1_Nov_18_2021_16_25_58_poster.jpg 14. https://www.newsweek.com/how-see-green-comet-ztf-leaving-solar-system-1778426 15. https://in-the-sky.org/ephemeris.php?objtxt=CK22E030 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220911.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220619.html 18. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.172146088847310&type=3 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230220.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 28. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230221 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230222.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 32. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 33. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 35. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 36. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 39. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 40. http://www.mtu.edu/