At the beginning of March, the comet will pass at a distance of about 150 million kilometers from the Earth, when it will dive for a short time into the orbit of the planet Mercury. Most experts estimate that it will become an object visible to the naked eye, with its brightness comparable to that of the stars of the Big Dipper.
Far beyond the orbits of Neptune-Rahab and Pluto, a place where the Sun is just a point of light no brighter than other stars, is surrounded by a vast swarm of icy bodies. Astronomers call it the Oort Cloud and it is the source of some of the most beautiful comets in history. One of them is advancing towards us and it may put on a spectacular show.
A new video from NASA's ScienceCast series explores the possibility that Comet Pan-Stars will be visible to the naked eye in early March.
Comet Pan-STARRS was discovered by the array of telescopes bearing that name (Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System). The scientists used a massive large telescope with a diameter of 1.8 meters to scan the sky in search of objects approaching the Earth - asteroids or comets that could endanger our planet. In June 2011, a new comet appeared in the field of view of the telescope and therefore earned the name of the telescope.
At the beginning of March, the comet will pass at a distance of about 150 million kilometers from the Earth, when it will dive for a short time into the orbit of the planet Mercury. Most experts estimate that it will become an object visible to the naked eye, with its brightness comparable to that of the stars of the Big Dipper.
However, according to Carl Battams of the US Naval Research Laboratories, there is the possibility of a surprise. A new comet from the Oort cloud holds a great mystery as to whether it can put on spectacular displays or fail miserably."
The Oort cloud is named after the 20th century Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, who argued that such a cloud must exist to supply all the 'fresh' comets falling into the inner solar system. Since the comet has not yet been affected by the light and heat of the sun, the comets far from the Oort cloud are like time capsules, and they are formed inside frozen gases from the gas and dust nebula that preceded the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. When these comets occasionally fall toward the Sun, they bring the virgin gas with them.
Since this is Pan-Stars' first visit, it has never encountered the sun's destructive heat and strong gravity. "Almost anything can happen," says Batams, "on the one hand, the comet began to disintegrate - and that would be a very big disappointment for viewers on Earth. On the other hand, the fresh thawing of frozen material can open an opening for huge jets of gas and dust that will burst into the night sky."
Artist photo of Enan Ort
Due to the relatively small distance from the Sun, Pan-Stars may be quite an active comet and produce a lot of dust and therefore also a long dust tail" observes Matthew Knight from the Lowell Observatory.
However, he says, "The comet will still be difficult to observe. From our perspective on Earth the comet would be too close to the Sun. This means that it will only be possible to view it during the twilight hours when the sky is not completely dark."
The best dates to view it will be March 12-13 when Pan-Stars will appear in the western sky at sunset not far from the crescent moon. The moon comet together in the sunset sky will be a rare sight. "I estimate that the brightest thing in that image will be the halo around the head of the comet" says Knight. "To see the comet's tail we need binoculars or a small telescope."
Previously, it will be possible to observe it on March 5 when it will approach the Earth (as stated a distance of about 150 million kilometers) and on March 10 when it will reach the closest point to the Sun. The amount of solar heating it would receive inside the orbit of a Hema star might be what it needs to push it toward the possibility of being visible to the naked eye.
Not to confuse Comet Pan-Stars with another even better comet expected to arrive later this year. Comet Ison is expected to shine as bright as the full moon in daylight when it passes through the Sun's atmosphere in November 2013. "Two bright comets in one year is an extremely rare event," says Batams.
6 תגובות
4.5 billion not a million
Aviku
The correct terminology will not appear here because there is a restriction on words in comments.
In any case, if the comet is seen in close proximity to Mercury, most likely it will not be seen without instruments, because the twilights near Mercury are too bright. Those who do not understand what I have argued have probably not tried to observe Mercury themselves without equipment. Mercury can hardly be seen because of its proximity to the sun, let alone a comet whose brightness is very low compared to Mercury. If it were said that the comet at the time of observation is far from Mercury I would say that there is a chance to see it, but to see it near Mercury the chances are low.
Anyway, according to what I just saw on the internet, if I'm not mistaken, the observation of the comet is only from the southern half of the Earth. Therefore, there will be no such observation in Israel. I will maybe check it in the planetarium software I have on my computer.
It is possible that the claim that the comet will be seen near Mercury during observation is a wrong claim, that's another story. But this is what was claimed in the article here, as far as I remember.
The proper terminology: unequipped eye
skeptic,
of course!
(By the way, for those who had doubts: it will be possible to see the comet, with the naked eye. Of course, through a telescope and suitable conditions).
The chance of seeing the comet without a telescope is very low, due to its proximity to the sun. Even Mercury can hardly be seen because of its proximity to the Sun, so a comet with a very low brightness is all the more so.