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Just as we can enjoy the Perseids in August as every year, October also gives us a long-awaited astronomical event: The so-called comet of the century is already
Just as we can enjoy the Perseids in August as every year, October also gives us a long-awaited astronomical event: The so-called comet of the century is already visible from Spain.
Let’s tell you if you don’t want to miss it On which days can you see it better? We explained how you can find the right places to observe it, thanks to a map you can carry on your mobile phone.
Image: Adam Krypel (Pixabay)
Although we have been observing it with telescopes for several months, the comet of the century can now be seen with the naked eye in October. So what is the comet of the century? It is known as such due to the possibility of comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). brighter than other comets of the 20th century.
It is an aperiodic comet from the Oort cloud It was discovered simultaneously in January last year by two astronomical observatories: China’s Purple Mountain Observatory and Hawaii’s ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Latest Alert System) project.
Comet A3 follows an elliptical orbit around the Sun and It will take tens of thousands of years crossing the solar system. In recent months, the comet’s faint tail has been growing rapidly due to the heat of the Sun entering between the orbits of Mars and Earth.
There will be important days to observe the comet At sunset on October 12 and 13It is expected to reach its maximum brightness as it “gets closer” to Earth (about 71,000 km). While it has been possible to see it at dawn since September in the southern hemisphere, it has started to be seen in the northern hemisphere in recent days.
To find it, you have to look towards the constellation Virgo (you can find its location using a star mapping app). The best places to observe this those with less light pollution. You can find out what these are by consulting this map from the Light Pollution Map website or an app such as ‘Light Pollution Map – Dark Sky’ (available free for Android).
Cover image | Kev (Pixabay)
Xataka on Android | NASA’s tips for observing the sky and the best practice for doing so: Perseids, planetary conjunctions, and nebulae
Source: Xatak Android
John Wilkes is a seasoned journalist and author at Div Bracket. He specializes in covering trending news across a wide range of topics, from politics to entertainment and everything in between.
