APOD: 2026 November 3 – Comet PanSTARRs and Rainbow Meteor

Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Explanation:Did this meteor come from that comet? Probably not. Although manymeteorsdo originate from comets, there arethousandsofcometsthat have visited the innerSolar Systemrecently, and matching meteors to them can be tricky. And to be clear, thepictured cometis far behind thestreaking meteor. CometC/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS)was captured fromHautacam,Francein April when thegiant space icebergsported impressiveion(blue) and dusttails. Sand-sized rocky debris that entersEarth’s atmospheretypically appears asmeteors, while thecolorful foreground streakhere may indicate a complicated composition. This month threenotable meteor showerswill reach their peaks. Over the next few days, the SouthernTauridswill be reaching their apex, while the NorthernTauridswill top out about a week later. Both originate fromComet 2P/Encke. November is most famous for theLeonids Meteor Shower, though, which originates fromComet 55P/Tempel-Tuttleand willreach its crescendoin about two weeks.Tomorrow's picture:open space