Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. The brightest comet in recent years has continued into the outer Solar System and is now farther from the Sun than Saturn . To the surprise of many, Comet Hale-Bopp is still active, continuing to spew gas, ice and dust particles out into space. The unusual dotted appearance of most stars in the above image is due to the 14 discrete exposures that were centered on the comet and not the stars.
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