Comet in the Morning Light

The stunning tail of Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3) photographed in the morning sky above Perth, Western Australia. The 200-meter icy body not only survived its close perihelion (only 185,000 km from the Sun’s surface), but in the days afterward this sungrazer comet also held together and reformed its dust and gas tails. Click on the second photo to see a close-up view of the comet tail.