Comet Hale-Bopp passes near the North America Nebula

Comet Hale-Bopp passes near the North America Nebula

 

The comet is actually located relatively close to the Earth in our own solar system, whereas the North America nebula is located thousands of light years away in our galaxy.

The comet's blue ion tail, which stretches 10 degrees here, comes from gas ions which glow as they fluoresce. The blue tail is contrasted with the red hydrogen-alpha emission of glowing hydrogen gas in the North America Nebula. Hale-Bopp's white dust tail does not glow on its own, rather it is visible because the dust particles reflect sunlight.