A dazzling comet emitting hues of green not seen for centuries is sparking across the skies and should be most visible to Vancouver Islanders.
“Any comet catches our attention right away. It’s just a very spectacular object in the sky, for sure,” said Thanjavur in an interview, noting astronomers have been tracking this particular comet since last year.
“The comet was discovered about a year ago, in March 2022. A wide-field survey camera discovered it. Astronomers noticed the comet, thought it was an asteroid, then confirmed it was a comet. The comet’s been known for a while,” according to Thanjavur. “This comet, because they have been tracking it for almost a year, they know what its orbit looks like. They think the last time this particular comet passed by the sun was tens of thousands of years ago, about 50,000 years ago.”Sign up for our newsletter to get breaking news and daily digests sent to your email.“About two years ago, there was a very spectacular comet called Neowise. It was visible in the night sky in Victoria.
This time, C/2022 E3 onlookers may notice some particles following in its path — “a dust trail,” the professor explains. “As it comes closer to the sun, the sun’s radiation starts evaporating the comet. It’s just a frozen chunk of ice and dust, so it gets evaporated by the sun’s radiation. The frozen gas, once it vaporizes, it’s excited by the ultraviolet radiation from the sun. This time, it’s greenish because it’s molecules of carbon,” said Thanjavur.“The current prediction is that this comet may be unbounded in its current orbit and leave the solar system altogether. So it’ll never come back.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Conservationists mark 20 years of hauling dead salmon to Vancouver Island creekA conservation group will be placing about 100 dead salmon in a Greater Victoria creek on Saturday morning.
Read more »
Rain and wind warnings in effect for parts of Vancouver IslandEnvironment Canada has issued wind warnings for gusts up to 90 km/h and rain warnings with amounts up to 100 mm on Vancouver Island.
Read more »