Comet of the century will soon pass near Earth: Find out when and how to see it | Innovation

A very special celestial object can only be seen once, when it passes by Earth, due to its properties, and according to experts from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Unam), it is likely The brightest comet of the 21st century.

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According to NASA, this object is called the “comet of the century” and comes from the Oort Cloud, a “cloud” composed of billions of icy bodies orbiting the sun. In addition, its area is much larger than the planetary region of the solar system.

“This comet is special for two reasons. One: It will likely come into the solar system only once, because unlike Comet Diablo or Comet Halley, it is not periodic. Two: It may be very bright, but a lot of that has to do with what happens after it passes through the sun.commented Dr. René A. Ortega Minakata of the Institute of Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Known in the scientific community as Comet A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS A3, analysis shows that the trajectory of the celestial body It orbits the sun once every 80,660 years.

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The comet was discovered on January 9, 2023, which is why its name begins with “A”, as this letter stands for the first half of January in the International Astronomical Union (IAU) comet naming system. The number 3 is because it is the third such space object discovered in that period.

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Comet A3 Chuchinshan – ATLAS A3 will visit Earth next September.

“It will be closest to the Sun on September 27 and very close to Earth on October 12, visible with the naked eye or binoculars.”, reads a report from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

In addition, the report also pointed out that at the end of November this year,It will gradually lose brightness as it begins to move away from Earth.“.

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To observe the passage of the comet, it is estimated that although it will be visible all over the world, in the southern hemisphere, in areas such as Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Congo and Indonesia.

Regarding visibility, it is worth mentioning that it improves from dawn to dusk, Dusk is the ideal time to observe comets“The movement of comets between one time and another is due to the relative position of the Earth,” Minakata stressed.

The report also emphasizes that if the brightness of the celestial body remains after passing the sun and weather conditions permit, it can be seen without the use of binoculars or astronomical telescopes.

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According to the professional portal “EarthSky”, The comet is currently located between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. The speed relative to the Earth is about 180,610 miles per hour (290,664 kilometers per hour), or 80.74 kilometers per second.

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