https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whMphW1Tb5I

Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay

Streamed live on Nov 8, 2025.

With the arrival of the comet 3I/Atlas (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System), the world is getting a crash course in comets, their behavior, and of course their tails. Today we're going to talk about comets and their tails, why they exist, how they grow, why they can be different colors and how they can be sometimes point AT the Sun.

Comets are one of the most animated and ephemeral targets for astronomy. From night to night they can change in shape and color, and every nuance tells us something. In this episode, we decode blue tails, green cores, forward-facing plumes, and other weird and awesome details observed with these icy visitors.

This show is supported through people like you on Patreon.com/AstronomyCast

In this episode, we'd like to thank: Andrew Poelstra, BogieNet, Brian Cagle, Burry Gowen, David, David Rossetter, Ed, Gerhard Schwarzer, Jason Kwong, Jeanette Wink, Michael Purcell, Sergey Manouilov, Siggi Kemmler, Sérgio Sancevero

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Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can!

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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

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