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. 2026 May 15 [2]A starfield appears featuring many bright stars, red nebula, and a comet. Snow covered mountains cover the foreground. The comet appears on the upper left with a tail the goes upward and right through a bright star. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. R3 PanSTARRS: An Orion Comet Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Chester Hall-Fernandez Explanation: Comet R3 PanSTARRS might be best remembered as an Orion comet. A key reason is because Comet [4]C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) was near its most spectacular -- in terms of tail visibility -- when passing in front of the [5]iconic constellation. Although rare, other bright [6]comets, too, have ventured across Orion, including [7]Lovejoy in 2015, [8]Hale-Bopp in 1997, and the [9]Great Comet of 1264. Best visible in long duration exposures, the [10]featured image was captured last week from the [11]Craigieburn Mountain Range in [12]New Zealand. Visible in the deep background image are the [13]Orion Nebula, [14]Barnard's Loop, and through R3's tail, the bright star [15]Saiph, the sixth brightest [16]star in the [17]constellation of Orion. [18]Comet R3 PanSTARRS continues to fade as it moves further south, passing into the constellation of the Unicorn ([19]Monoceros) in the next few days. Sky Surprise: [20]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995) Tomorrow's picture: aurora burrito __________________________________________________________________ [21]< | [22]Archive | [23]Submissions | [24]Index | [25]Search | [26]Calendar | [27]RSS | [28]Education | [29]About APOD | [30]Discuss | [31]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell ([35]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [36]Specific rights apply. [37]NASA Web Privacy, [38]Accessibility, [39]Notices; A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC, [43]NASA Science Activation & [44]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/R3Orion_Hall_2870.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/astro_che/ 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2025_R3_(PanSTARRS) 5. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stories/quick-reads/discovering-the-universe-through-the-constellation-orion/ 6. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/facts/ 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150128.html 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970825.html 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Comet_of_1264 10. https://www.instagram.com/p/DYRnA1TT6Iy/ 11. https://youtu.be/i1ePpgYaRcA 12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130320.html 14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnard's_Loop 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saiph 16. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/ 17. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/constellations/en/ 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260510.html 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoceros 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260514.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 27. https://apod.com/feed.rss 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 30. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260515 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260516.html 32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 38. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 39. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 40. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 41. https://www.nasa.gov/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 43. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 44. http://www.mtu.edu/