How the comet will pass over the earth. What comets approached the earth. When and where to look through binoculars or a telescope

A comet is flying towards us! The one to which the Rosetta spacecraft was supposed to fly in 2004. Comet Virtanen is the brightest comet of 2018 - in mid-December it will be closer to the Sun and Earth than ever. In the entire history of observations of comets, the Earth will have one of the minimum encounters with comets - on December 16, Comet Virtanen will be only 30 times farther from us than the Moon! In December, the comet is easy to find with binoculars, and in clear, cloudless weather, it is visible naked eye! Observing the comet for an hour, two, you can see how it quickly moves across the sky: a distance equal to the diameter of the moon, it flies these days in less than three hours!

Comet Virtanen (46P / Wirtanen)- a short-period comet with a period of 5.4 years, discovered more than 70 years ago, belongs to the Jupiter family. The diameter of the comet's nucleus is estimated at 1.2 km. Every 5.5 years, it returns to the Sun, flying near the Earth. The comet was discovered photographically on January 17, 1948 by the American Karl Virtanen at the Lick Observatory.

In December 2018, Comet Virtanen is rapidly increasing in brightness and angular size. In mid-December, it moves across the sky at a speed of about 11 "" per minute, and it flies a distance equal to the diameter of the moon in about 2.7 hours! Those. her displacement against the background of the starry sky is noticeable to the naked eye in tens of minutes, and when observed through a telescope - almost in real time.

On December 13, 2018, it will pass perihelion, as close as possible to the Sun, thereby increasing its brightness to + 4m magnitude! We know that the human eye sees objects of + 6.5m magnitude under good atmospheric conditions. Those. preparing to observe with our eyes in clear weather.

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Orbit of Comet Virtanen for 3.1 hours on December 10, 2018. Animation video: Alex Cherney (terrastro)

On December 16, 2018, it will approach the Earth at a distance of 11.5 million km (0.077 AU). This is one of the smallest encounters between the Earth and comets in our entire history of comet observations. And in the 21st century, only 4 comets approached the Earth closer than Virtanen's comet this year.

Comet Virtanen is expected to reach a brightness of 3-4m at maximum brightness, making it the brightest comet in five years. It looks like a rather diffuse object with an angular diameter of the order of a degree, which is twice the disk of the Moon in the sky. The comet is very sensitive to observation conditions: in order to clearly see this rather "large green misty cloud", you need the darkest, unlit sky as much as possible. For the best naked eye view, remember to use peripheral vision.

Emerald color comet is caused by the vapor of dicarbon (C2), the green glow of which arises from the ultraviolet solar irradiation of gas in the vacuum of space.

In December, the comet Virtanen will pass through the constellations of Cetus, Eridanus, Taurus, Auriga, Perseus.

The tailed guest can be observed at night, just after sunset, above the southern horizon, as a green object with a brightness of about + 4m magnitude. In clear, cloudless weather, the comet is perfectly visible almost all night on the territory of Russia and neighboring countries.

Most better days to observe comet Virtanen on December 12-16, 2018. It will be visible in the evening and night sky. And the time of its closest approach to our planet will coincide with the time of maximum activity the Geminids meteor shower. The waxing moon these days will not seriously interfere with observations, but it will become a problem a few days later. December 22 will take the full moon phase and will be located in the constellation Orion, which may slightly interfere with observations of the comet's approach to Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga. In December, this star is observed in the zenith region at about midnight!

Try not to miss the night from 16 to 17 and from 23 to 24 December... On these dates, the comet will pass, respectively, next to the Pleiades and Capella. Do not miss!

* Perihelion is the closest point of the orbit of a planet, comet or other body in the solar system to the Sun.

The most interesting encounters of Comet Virtanen in December:

December 13th- Comet Virtanen passes perihelion at a distance of 1.05 AU. e. from the sun

December 15 and 16- Comet Virtanen passes at a minimum distance from the Earth. In the sky, she is in the constellation Taurus between Aldebaran and about 4 ° from the beautiful open star cluster of the Pleiades (M 45)... The expected magnitude is about + 4m magnitude.

December 19th - the comet is 5 ° west of stars ι charioteer(gloss 2.65m).

December 21 - 23- the comet passes by the stars ζ and ε Aurigae and approaches with a bright star Capella(alpha Auriga) to 0.8 °.

Search chart (path of Comet Virtanen in the celestial sphere):

When and where to look through binoculars or a telescope:

December 2018: evening and all night.

· Above the southern horizon.

· Constellations: Whale, Eridanus, Taurus, Charioteer, Perseus, Charioteer, Lynx.

What then?

After approaching the Sun and Earth on December 13 and 16, the comet will fade as quickly as it brightened. Until the end of December, it will move along the constellations of Perseus, Auriga, Lynx and will weaken to 5m by the beginning of the new 2019. In January 2019, Virtanen's comet will become an inaccessible object for the naked eye, and a little later - for binoculars. In its next returns (in 2029 and 2035), it will again be able to be observed by amateurs, but only with the use of telescopes. After that, two approaches of the comet with Jupiter in 2042 and 2054 will increase the comet's perihelion distance, first to 1.2 AU, and then to 1.98 AU, as a result of which its visual observations will become impossible.

Based on materials: astronom.ru, skygazer.ru, calsky.com

Developments

Small comet Hartley-2 will be visible from Earth with the naked eye on October 20, when it flies past the planet just 11 million kilometers away. Over the past centuries, this will be the closest "contact" of our planet with a comet.

Hartley 2 was discovered in 1986. Its orbital path was far from Earth until a couple of orbits around Jupiter pushed its orbit closer.

Hartley-2 will be included in the number of comets that flew over last centuries close enough to Earth.

Comet McNaught lit up the sky in 2007. The brightest comet in over forty years, McNaught has been dubbed the Great Comet of 2007. Astronauts managed to observe this comet, as a result of shedding light on the composition of such celestial bodies. Spacecraft Willis discovered a decrease in the solar wind here.

The discoverer of the comet, Australian astronomer Robert McNaught discovered another bright new comet in 2009 McNaught C / 2009 R1 that flew past the Earth in June of this year.

Comet Schwassman-Wachmann surprised scientists in 1995 when it split into three mini-comets. The disintegration of a celestial body, by the way, is still going on. By the time of its approach to Earth in 2006, Schwassman-Wachmann had already split into 30 small pieces, some of which will be as close to Earth as possible in 2022.

Hale-Bopp considered the longest-running comet in the 20th century. Earthlings could observe it for 18 months from 1996 to 1997.

The giant comet was first seen beyond the orbit of Jupiter and shone a thousand times brighter than Halley's comet located at the same distance. NASA experts estimate the diameter of the Hale-Bopp core at 19-25 miles, which is a ratio of two and five to the size of a comet that collided with our planet 65 million years ago. Hale-Bopp will not return to our solar system until 4385.

"Big Comet 1996" by Hyakutake , flying close to the Earth, illuminated the sky with a bluish-green light, according to scientists, due to the presence of diatomic carbon in the composition of the emission. Hyakutake was also the first comet to emit X-rays.

Shoemaker-Levy -9 collided with Jupiter in 1994. Then we saw the collision of two bodies for the first time Solar system... As a result of this "meeting", gas bubbles were formed, and dark traces remained in the atmosphere.

Shoemaker-Levy -9 was the first comet orbiting not around the Sun, but a planet. Jupiter most likely pulled the comet into its orbit in the 1960s and 70s.

Astronomers foreshadowed in 2126 a collision of the Earth with comet Swift-Tuttle ... However, later we revised our calculations - the comet will fly past us at a distance of 15 million miles.

This comet is part of the Perseid meteor shower, which appears annually in the summer night sky.

The most famous comet is probably Halley's comet seen from Earth every 75 or 76 years. Thus, a person can observe it, say, twice in his life.

The comet has been observed since ancient times. But the fact that this is exactly the comet, cyclically observed from the Earth, was discovered in 1705 by the English astronomer Edmond Halley.

The comet will next be visible from Earth in 2061.

Closest to our planet over the past two centuries, a small comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock in 1983. The size of a moon, it appeared in the sky just three million miles away. Experts from NASA were able to prove with the help of a satellite that the component of this comet contains sulfur - the first such discovery.

The brightest comet of the century was West in 1976. It was so clear that it could be observed in the daytime. This comet will still not soon return to a distance close to the Earth.

Head up! Comets pass by the Earth

Comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner. Photo by Alexander Vasenin, August 18, 208, Moscow region.

No, of course, these comets will not collide with the Earth, but lovers of the night sky are already getting wonderful pictures even with the help of their small telescopes.

After several years of waiting, exciting news comes from the sky: one comet is already visible above our heads, and the second we will be able to see at the beginning of this winter. The hero of our time, comet 21P Giacobini / Zinner - the source of the Draconids meteor shower - is already a good object for small telescopes. And soon this comet will approach the Earth at the closest distance in the last 72 years! The second visitor to our horizon - the comet Virtanen - will come even closer and, quite possibly, will be visible to the naked eye.

Comet 21P Giacobini / Zinner was discovered on December 20, 1900 by the French astronomer Michel Jacobini and then rediscovered by his German colleague Ernst Zinner in October 1913. Its circulation period is 6.6 years. Now the comet is approaching the Earth and the Sun at a tremendous speed - 23 kilometers per second. It will reach the closest distance to both the Earth and the Sun on September 10, 2018 - on this date, the comet will sweep at a completely safe distance to our planet - 58 million kilometers. This is about the same as the distance to Mars at the moment, but for a comet this distance is relatively small.

And this is the first reason astronomers are so excited. But not the only one.

During the first half of September, the comet will be available for observation through binoculars! The comet is expected to reach a visual magnitude of 7 to 6.5. This means that it will not be visible to the naked eye. Comet 21P will move against the background of the constellations Giraffe, Perseus and Auriga. Since the moment a comet passes the closest distance to Earth, coincides with the passage of perihelion - the closest distance to the Sun - on Saturday, September 8 - the best night in all respects to gaze at this celestial wanderer. On this night, the comet will be visible against the background of the stars of the constellation Auriga.

Using binoculars or a small telescope, you will be able to see the object as a blurry ball of light, if, of course, you look in the right direction. Observing through a telescope, note which star is the nucleus of the comet: looking after 15 - 30 minutes, you can easily distinguish its movement. Comet 21P moves at a speed of 81,360 kilometers per hour relative to the Earth.

And although the nucleus of comet 21P Jacobini / Zinner has a diameter of about two kilometers, the radiation of the Sun develops a coma around the comet's nucleus about 290 thousand kilometers in diameter, which means that the diameter of the cometary coma is twice the diameter of the largest planet in the solar system - Jupiter. The photographs show the green color of the comet's coma, which indicates the presence of cyanide compounds and the presence of molecular carbon, which glow green by reflecting sunlight.

On September 11, the comet's diffuse spot will be very close to the rich star cluster Messier 37 or M37 in the constellation Auriga. Comet 21P / Jacobini / Zimmer's next so comfortable passage will only occur on September 18, 2058, 40 years after the present event.

Now let's talk about meteor showers. During the flight around the Sun, dust and debris are emitted from the nucleus of comet 21P, which are the source of the Draconid meteor shower. In 2018, the maximum Draconid meteor shower will fall on the evenings of October 7 and 8, and this is the new moon period, which means that meteors will be clearly visible in the dark sky. Draconids cannot boast of abundant starfalls in most years, but in those years when the parent comet is nearby, you should expect a good meteor shower. There are no predictions for the 2018 Draconids meteor shower, but this is a shower that deserves our attention anyway.

Another comet approaching Earth, 46P / Virtanen, may be visible to the naked eye in the unlit sky in December 2018. The comet will reach its closest distance to the Sun on December 12 and will be at its closest distance to Earth on December 16 this year. According to astronomers at the University of Maryland (USA), this passage of Comet Virtanen will be the tenth closest to Earth in recent years. At its closest point, the comet will travel 30 times more from the Earth than the distance to the Moon, or 11.5 million kilometers. Calculations show that comet 46P can reach from 6 to 3.5 visual magnitude. If this happens, then we will be able to see the celestial wanderer with the naked eye (although the diffuse nature of the comet makes them less visible than stars of the corresponding size).

The Irkutsk Planetarium begins the thirty-ninth series of field observations of objects deep space on Glubokaya on September 1. We will observe not only the Jacobini-Zinner comet, but also the planets Mars, Uranus and Neptune, the Andromeda galaxy, open and globular star clusters.

We will go to see observations every clear night until September 9 inclusive. We meet at the Karetny Dvor cafe on the 72nd km of the Kultuk tract from 10 pm to 11 pm. The cost of participation in the observations is 1000 rubles for an adult, 500 rubles for a schoolchild, for groups of 4 people - a 20% discount. We recommend that you dress warmly - it is cool in the forest at night.

To clarify whether observations are carried out on a particular date, you can ask additional questions by phone

+7 914 948 04 64, +7 9500 99 29 09.

Today we can see a lot of comets through telescopes, some of them, when they fly very close to the Earth, we can observe with the naked eye. Recent bright comets are C / 2011 L4 PANSTARRS, C / 2012 S1 ISON, and of course Comet Lovejoy 2014. Have you heard of Comet Chezo, Comet Donati and other brightest comets in human history? In this article I will tell you about them.

1) Comet Shezo(C / 1744 X1). This comet was observed by the inhabitants of the Earth in 1743 and 1744 for several months with the naked eye. She eclipsed the stars Sirius and Venus in brightness and boasted an unusual tail that resembled a fan.

2) Big comet1811 (C / 1811 F1). This comet could be observed by the inhabitants of our planet for 290 days with the naked eye. The comet was brightest in October 1811, and a little later its tail bent more than 60 degrees, which was very spectacular. In terms of brightness, the comet was comparable to the brightest stars.

3) Great March comet1843 (C / 1843 D1). This comet boasted the longest tail, the length of which was 2 astronomical units (a distance more than 2 times the average distance from the Earth to the Sun). Earth observers could see the comet even in daylight.

4) Comet Donati(C / 1858 L1, 1858 VI). This bright comet was the first comet to be photographed. Her return is expected in the 39th century.

5) The Great September Comet of 1882(C / 1882 R1). The brightest comet of the 19th century and one of the brightest comets of the millennium. For some time this comet could be seen with the naked eye in daylight.

6) The Great January Comet of 1910(C / 1910 A1). This comet was visible in the daytime for 2 days in January 1910, therefore it was also called the Daytime comet.

7) Comet Ikei-Seki(C / 1965 S1) - The brightest comet of the 20th century, 60 times brighter than the full moon! Approaching the Sun, it split into three parts. There is speculation that this comet is part of one large comet that disintegrated in 1106.

8) Comet hyakutake(C / 1996 B2). Over the past 200 years, this comet has come closest to our planet. It glowed brightly in the night sky and could be seen with the naked eye.

9) Comet Hale-Bopp(C / 1995 O1). This comet was visible to the naked eye for a long time - about 1.5 years. It is called the "Big Comet of 1997", as it was in this year that it was the brightest for the terrestrial observer. The comet caused a great stir in the world, ridiculous rumors and speculations about aliens began to appear, some fanatics of the sects committed suicide.

10) Comet McNaught(C / 2006 P1). After the comet in 1965, it was the brightest comet, and the inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere could observe it especially well. For several days, the comet was visible even during the day. After the comet passed the Sun, it developed a huge fan-shaped tail.