Comet of the North

As seen on Astronomy Picture of the Day, it looks like a double comet, but this image from Tänndalen, Sweden, has captured Comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) appearing with the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). On its Outward bound and fading in this starry scene the comet was similar in brightness to M31 at the imaging date. Both comet and galaxy were visible to the eye and are immersed in the faint glow of red aurora as our own Milky Way galaxy arcs over a snowy field. Double star cluster h and chi Persei can be spotted along the Milky Way’s arc high above the comet/galaxy pair. Follow the arc to bright Deneb, alpha star of the constellation Cygnus, at the right edge of the frame. Click on the second photo to see a closer view of this scene.