Springtime Comet Wows Stargazer in Amazing Telescope View (Photo)

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By Nina Sen
published

C/2012 K1 PanStarrs Adam Block
The image of C/2012 K1 PanStarrs was sent in by Adam Block from The University of Arizona and taken on May 5, 2014. (Image credit: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona)

The bright, green glow of a springtime comet shines in this amazing photo captured by an stargazer using the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter in Arizona.

The image of Comet C/2012 K1 PanSTARRS was sent in by Adam Block from The University of Arizona and taken on May 5.

"As it brightens over the next few months it should remain a nice object to watch in its journey across the sky," Block wrote in an email to Space.com. [Amazing Stargazing Photos of May 2014]

This NASA graphic depicts the visibility path for Comet PanSTARRS C/2012 K1, which can be seen in amateur telescopes in May and June 2014. The comet can be found between the consellations of Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) and Leo in the northern night sky. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

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Comet C/2012 K1 PanSTARRS is a springtime comet that is expected to wax bright enough to possibly see with the naked eye. In April, it became bright enough to observe with a small telescope and it will make its closest approach to the sun near the end of August. C/2012 K1 PanSTARRS was discovered in 2012 by astronomers using the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii.

To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by Space.com readers, visit our astrophotography archive.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

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Nina Sen
Contributing Writer and Producer

Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.