On the tails of a comet ☄️⁣ ⁣ Astronaut Matthew Dominick took this photo of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS on Sept. 22, when it was about 100 million miles (160 million km) from Earth. Dominick captured this shot aboard the International Space Station (ISS) using long-duration photography on a camera programmed for high sensitivity. The comet, which likely traveled from the outer reaches of our solar system, made its closest transit past the Sun on Sept. 27.⁣ ⁣ When a comet approaches the Sun, it gets warmer. Heat causes its ice to sublimate into gas, and these gases and dust become a glowing head and tail that can extend millions of miles. The dust tail of Tsuchinshan-ATLAS features prominently in this photo, extending toward the top of the frame.⁣ ⁣ A second type of tail, the ion tail, is faintly visible, pointing down and to the right. The Sun influences the two types of tails in different ways, often sending them in different directions. The heat and pressure of sunlight push particles...