Comet Pan-STARRS of 2013: Photos and Sky Maps for Stargazers

Comet Pan-STARRS and the Moon Over Salem, Missouri

Joe Shuster/Lake County Astronomical Society

Astrophotographer Joe Shuster sent in a photo of Comet Pan-STARRS and the crescent moon taken in Salem, Missouri, March 12, 2013.

Comet Pan-STARRS Over Buford, GA

Bill Carlson

Astrophotographer Bill Carlson sent in a photo of Comet Pan-STARRS and the moon over Buford, Georgia, taken on March 13, 2013.

Comet Pan-STARRS Over Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

Randy Paylor

Astrophotographer Randy Paylor sent in a photo of Comet Pan-STARRS. He writes: "Taken on the campus of Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, March 11th [2013], with the school's Memorial Tower clock in the foreground. It was shot across a big open quad to get the tower in the distance and near the horizon."

Moon, Comet Pan-STARRS and Church in Rio Rancho, NM

Josh Knutson

Astrophotographer Josh Knutson sent in a photo of the crescent moon and Comet Pan-STARRS setting, with a church in the foreground. Photo taken northwest of Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Image submitted March 12, 2013.

Moon and Comet Pan-STARRS Over Rio Rancho, NM

Josh Knutson

Astrophotographer Josh Knutson sent in a photo of the crescent new moon and Comet Pan-STARRS taken northwest of Rio Rancho, New Mexico. A church stands in the foreground of this picture. Image submitted March 12, 2013. [Full Story: Comet Pan-STARRS and the Moon Wow Stargazers]

Comet Pan-STARRS and the Moon Over the Hill Country of Texas

James Zeman

Astrophotographer James Zeman sent in a photo of Comet Pan-STARRS and the moon in the Hill Country of Texas near Dripping Springs. He writes: "The comet was barely visible with the naked eye, and there was considerable haze on the horizon." Image submitted March 13, 2013.

Comet Pan-STARRS and the Moon

Dale P. Cruikshank

Dr. Dale P. Cruikshank of NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., took this photo of Comet Pan-STARRS on March 12, 2013.

Comet Pan-STARRS and Moon Over Woodside, CA

Steven Loy

Astrophotographer Steven Loy sent in this photo of comet Pan-STARRS and the moon taken from Windy Hill on Highway 35 (Skyline Blvd.) above Woodside, CA, on March 12, 2013.

Comets Lemmon and Pan-STARRS Over Paranal Observatory

G. Brammer/ESO

A sunset view of the Paranal Observatory in Chile taken March 5, 2013, shows two comets. Close to the horizon, on the right-hand side of the image, is Comet C/2011 L4 (Pan-STARRS). In the center of the image, just above the right-hand slopes of Cerro Paranal, is Comet C/2012 F6 (Lemmon).

Comet Pan-STARRS Over San Diego

Douglas S. Brown

Astrophotographer Douglas S. Brown sent in a photo of Comet Pan-STARRS taken on March 13, 2013, from Mt. Woodson, just east of San Diego, shooting over the Pacific.

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.