Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful spectacles that can be enjoyed in a clear sky is the sighting of a comet. Precisely, at this moment you can already look with small telescopes at the comet baptized as C-2021 A1 oel kite Leonard in honor of its discoverer at the Arizona Observatory on January 3 of this year.
The comet will be visible to the naked eye on December 12 at 8:54 pm Colombia and Peru timeSince it will be a very short distance from Earth, about 35 million kilometers, it looks like lightning in the sky.
The comet is named after Greg Leonard, a research scientist at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona who discovered it on January 3 of this year. It will be an unrepeatable experience, and as some scientists have pointed out, its orbit will extend beyond Neptune. After crossing Earth, the comet’s journey through Venus can be traced up to three weeks later. Then on January 3, when you are at the closest point to the sun, you will leave it behind and continue to go towards the ends of the solar system.
Comet Leonard facts
Leonard’s comment is invisible to the naked eye. In mid-December, December 12 will be closer to Earth at a distance of 35 million kilometers, but it should be noted that lto information circulating in the social networks about the comet brushing the earth, It’s incorrect.
In addition, he is currently describing a parabolic orbit, that is, an open orbit and therefore the comet does not have a period of 80,000 years as it also appears in other news across the network. This interval would be possible if your orbit was elliptical.
“For the closest approach date (December 12) it can reach a magnitude of three or four. In other words, it would be easily visible, taking into account that human sight only has visual sensitivity of magnitude five, on a logarithmic scale, “he told Infobae Colombia. Alberto Quijano Vodniza, Director of the Astronomical Observatory of Pasto, Colombian city.
Technology used to photograph Leonard’s comet
Quijano tells us that he took “a Photography the morning of November 28 with magnitude 10.5 ″, which means that the brilliance of Leonard comments is still very weak.
Thanks to a small eight-inch telescope and a CCD camera (charging coupled device), Alberto was able to take the photo from his home. “There you can see in the photographs the coma, which is a kind of atmosphere that comets have and whose diameter is a little greater than 100,000 km. It also has a fairly long and shiny tail ”, explained.
“The nucleus is impossible to observe; only space missions that pass very close have the opportunity to capture it. Comets generally have two tails; a queue called the powder glue, which is quite curved of yellowish color and another tail that is rather rectilinear, and is called the ionic glue.” Quijano added.
Forecasts for observing Comet Leonard
Alberto Quijano offered some forecasts for Colombia: “until December 10 the comet can be observed, if there are no obstacles at the exit in this celestial body.
On December 11 and 12 of this year it is impossible to observe it.
And from December 16 it can be seen, but only in the night sky. Logically, the more time passes, the brightness of the comet will decrease ”, concludes.
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