- Joined
- Dec 20, 2017
- Messages
- 15,426
There is a lot going on in this beautiful existence. We can find lots of stuff to cause worry, sadness, and add to our stress.
One thing that has always fascinated me and held my attention was astronomy so I decided to search for what's going on in the sky. Outside with the dog, I saw some type of jet, not a fighter, it was too low, not loud enough and had a lot of brightness to it so it didn't look like a commercial jet either. Are they even flying commercial flights at this point? I don't know. Too cloudy to see any stars tonight. Last night was a beautiful sky.
We've got Comet Atlas in the skies over the next month. Some nerdy astronomers are able to see it even now with powerful telescopes. Star parties are most likely out of the question in our existence for now.
I've included a couple paragraphs from Sky & Telescope's website. There are some decent graphics and other links. Check it out. Or maybe someone could assist my so so techy skills and paste up the link the way Sentry does.
Comet ATLAS: Will it Become a Naked-Eye Object? - Sky & Telescope
Not since Comet 46P/Wirtanen passed near the Pleiades star cluster in December 2018 has a naked-eye comet graced the night sky. That may soon change. On December 28, 2019, astronomers with the automated Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey discovered a 20th-magnitude comet in Ursa Major that was subsequently named Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4).
According to NASA’s JPL Horizons the comet could reach magnitude –5, exceeding Venus in brightness at perihelion on May 31st. Because it will lie 13° southwest of the Sun at that time, it might be possible to see the object in broad daylight with a properly shielded telescope.
That prediction may be overly optimistic however. In a March 19th notice from the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT), Director Daniel Green applied a formula based on the behavior of previous long-period, Sun-hugging comets and derived a more conservative peak magnitude of –0.3.
It's good news either way. In both predictions Comet ATLAS will reach naked-eye brightness in mid-May before it's lost in the solar glare. The JPL Horizons formula predicts a peak magnitude between 1 and 2, while Green anticipates that number to be between 2 and 3. During the first half of May the comet will appear low in the evening sky at dusk and early nightfall as it tracks through Perseus. Binoculars should reveal a bright, strongly condensed coma followed by dust and gas tails pointing away from the Sun. With a little luck we might even see the tail without optical aid.
After rounding the Sun, Comet ATLAS returns to view around June 15th at dawn in Orion for Southern Hemisphere skywatchers. Initially glowing at magnitude 3 or 4, the comet will fade quickly — assuming it survives a sizzling perihelic encounter!
One thing that has always fascinated me and held my attention was astronomy so I decided to search for what's going on in the sky. Outside with the dog, I saw some type of jet, not a fighter, it was too low, not loud enough and had a lot of brightness to it so it didn't look like a commercial jet either. Are they even flying commercial flights at this point? I don't know. Too cloudy to see any stars tonight. Last night was a beautiful sky.
We've got Comet Atlas in the skies over the next month. Some nerdy astronomers are able to see it even now with powerful telescopes. Star parties are most likely out of the question in our existence for now.
I've included a couple paragraphs from Sky & Telescope's website. There are some decent graphics and other links. Check it out. Or maybe someone could assist my so so techy skills and paste up the link the way Sentry does.
Comet ATLAS: Will it Become a Naked-Eye Object? - Sky & Telescope
Not since Comet 46P/Wirtanen passed near the Pleiades star cluster in December 2018 has a naked-eye comet graced the night sky. That may soon change. On December 28, 2019, astronomers with the automated Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey discovered a 20th-magnitude comet in Ursa Major that was subsequently named Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4).
According to NASA’s JPL Horizons the comet could reach magnitude –5, exceeding Venus in brightness at perihelion on May 31st. Because it will lie 13° southwest of the Sun at that time, it might be possible to see the object in broad daylight with a properly shielded telescope.
That prediction may be overly optimistic however. In a March 19th notice from the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT), Director Daniel Green applied a formula based on the behavior of previous long-period, Sun-hugging comets and derived a more conservative peak magnitude of –0.3.
It's good news either way. In both predictions Comet ATLAS will reach naked-eye brightness in mid-May before it's lost in the solar glare. The JPL Horizons formula predicts a peak magnitude between 1 and 2, while Green anticipates that number to be between 2 and 3. During the first half of May the comet will appear low in the evening sky at dusk and early nightfall as it tracks through Perseus. Binoculars should reveal a bright, strongly condensed coma followed by dust and gas tails pointing away from the Sun. With a little luck we might even see the tail without optical aid.
After rounding the Sun, Comet ATLAS returns to view around June 15th at dawn in Orion for Southern Hemisphere skywatchers. Initially glowing at magnitude 3 or 4, the comet will fade quickly — assuming it survives a sizzling perihelic encounter!
