Comet PanSTARRS displays ion tail as it nears the sun

1 articles · Updated · Space.com · Apr 27

NASA/ESA's SOHO spacecraft captured Comet C/2025 R3's ion tail brightening and swinging away from the sun during its close Earth approach on April 26.
The comet, discovered in September 2025, reached perihelion on April 19 and dazzled observers with its dual tails—one dust, one ion—visible in both ground and spacecraft imagery.
Comet tails form as solar radiation heats the nucleus, causing sublimation and ionization; the ion tail always points away from the sun, while the dust tail lags behind, creating a striking visual phenomenon.

Was Comet PanSTARRS a true spectacle, or a disappointment for Northern Hemisphere observers?

What did the comet's broken tail reveal about the Sun's invisible and powerful solar wind?

How is this comet helping scientists protect our satellites from dangerous solar storms?

With its 170,000-year orbit, what is the final destination for this icy visitor?

How did a 30-year-old satellite unexpectedly become history’s most successful comet hunter?

What can this ancient visitor teach us about our solar system’s chaotic birth?