The "naked" comet approaching the earth can become brighter than the stars
The icy rock has been in orbit for 80,000 years.
This year has brought the stars stars a total solar eclipse, supermoons, showers of active meteors and which could forget the beautiful North light display Who occurred during the Mother's Day weekend? And it seems that the celestial heavens do not happen soon, like "like" naked "The comet as brilliant as Venus should enlarge the sky of the earth later this fall, Space reports.
On October 12, 2024, scientists predict that the comet C / 2023 A3 (also called Tsuchinshan-Atlas) will be only 44 million miles of the earth, which makes it one of the brightest figures in our night sky.
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Tsuchinshan-Atlas was discovered for the first time in 2023 by the latest asteroid alert system (Atlas) in South Africa. It was originally believed to be an asteroid, but a report from the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, China has since determined that the snowball is arrow was an incoming comet. But although the comet is new for astronomers, she is actually quite old.
According to Forbes , Tsuchinshan-Atlas is what experts call " long -term comet "Because it has been in orbit for over 80,000 years. Oort cloud , whose frozen bodies can take over 200 years to orbit the sun, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Oort Cloud Comets is also famous for their mountainous size.
In February 2023, Tsuchinshan-Atlas was spotted in front of Jupiter, about 680 million kilometers from the sun. However, Space Note that by September 2024, this distance should decrease only 36 million miles - a quarter seismic, taking into account Tsuchinshan -Atlas will comply with Mercury, the planet closest to the sun.
But that's not all. Tsuchinshan-Atlas, in all his icy and brilliant glory, will be visible from the earth on October 12, 2024. It should increase to only 44 million miles of the earth. To put this in perspective, Venus is 160 million kilometers from the earth, but is considered to be the closest planetary neighbor of the earth.
"These figures suggest that the comet could go well in the second or perhaps even the first magnitude and could develop a notable tail which could make a catchy view in the western sky of the evening in mid-October 2024," said Space .
Tsuchinshan-Atlas follows "Great Green Comet" of 2023 and the feeling " Devil's comet "" Who honored the atmosphere of the earth earlier this year. Despite their mysterious nicknames, no comet has shown a radiant spectacle for astrophiles. However, a better result is expected for Tsuchinshan-Atlas.
If Tsuchinshan-Atlas made its way as planned, those of the northern hemisphere will be able to see the flying rock between the end of September and mid-October. If you travel to Australia, New Zealand or South America this summer, look up because Tsuchinshan-Atlas can be visible early in the morning before sunrise.
However, there is a chance that the "enlightening trend" of Tsuchinshan-Atlas suddenly slows down. If this happens, experts say: "All bets for a good show are disabled." Only time will tell us if Tsuchinshan-Atlas has enough power to "evolve in a catchy view"
