Comet Lovejoy

Once again, space station commander Dan Burbank captured the elegant "sungrazing" comet hanging above the Earth's horizon. This view was photographed on Dec. 22, the day after Burbank's first viewing session on Wednesday.

Stunning stratification of the Earth's atmosphere is very clear in this photograph. Also, the two tails of Comet Lovejoy are visible. As with all comet tails, there are two distinct types -- a dust tail and ion tail. The dust tail will often form a curved trajectory, whereas the ion tail will point directly away from the sun, aligning itself with the sun's interplanetary magnetic field.

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Image credit: NASA/Dan Burbank