Exciting phenomena in the sky this week

Exciting phenomena in the sky this week

It orbits a recently discovered comet that will make its closest approach to the sun – early this week. CNN reported this with reference to NASA, among others.

The comet, which has a beautiful green glow, will be visible to us in the Northern Hemisphere with ordinary binoculars for most of January.

However, depending on the weather in the coming weeks, it may be visible to the naked eye,

NASA urges that you should pay attention to it in the dark morning sky above all else.

long cycle

And like I said, you have to be careful because it’s not part of the base to be visited by the comet, which has been named C/2022 E3 (ZTF).

The last time it appeared in the night sky was nearly 50,000 years ago.

The comet has an orbit around the sun that passes through the outer parts of the solar system. That’s why it took so long for Earth to swing again, The Planetary Society asserts.

Crowned February 1 and 2

The comet can already be seen on Thursday, but telescopes will be needed much earlier, says EarthSky.

Then it will come closest to Earth and will be closest between February 1 and February 2 when it will be 42 million kilometers away.

– As the comet approaches Earth, observers will be able to spot it near the North Star, EarthSky confirms.

Glowing green glow

The comet in question is distinguished by its glowing green glow. The color comes from a “shroud” that forms around the comet as it passes close to the Sun, causing its ice to turn into gas.

This makes the comet appear “hazy” when observed through a telescope.

You can see an image of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which was recently discovered on March 2, 2022 at an observatory in California, by click here.

Several celestial phenomena in 2023

During the year 2023, there are great opportunities to see other amazing phenomena in the night sky.

We have recently reached the peak of the Quadruple meteor shower, but in the spring new meteor showers will pass and become visible to the naked eye.

Among other things, the Lyrid and Eta Aquarid meteor showers can be seen on April 22-23 and May 7-8, respectively.

On May 5, you can look forward to a dim semilunar eclipse and twice in August there will be what are called supermoons.

Photo: J. Thomas

Text: Editors