Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:33 pm by globalturbo
April 3, 2020. Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) has sprung a tail--and it's impressive. According to observations from amateur astronomers the tail is 1.2 degrees long. That's 3.3 million km, or more than twice as wide as the Sun. The outer reaches of ATLAS's tail are still faint, but the gossamer filaments can be seen sweeping across the stars. Comet ATLAS is now shining like an 8th magnitude star--too dim to see with the unaided eye but and easy target for backyard telescopes like Rhemann's. The comet is expected to become much brighter. By the time it sweeps by the sun closer than Mercury in late May, it could rival Venus in the evening sky. That would be a comet tale, indeed. A Comet tail is dust and gas that get illuminated by the Sun as the comet gets closer. Comet coma is the nebulosity around the nucleus of a comet that gives it a fuzzy look. It poses no danger to Earth as even at its closest point it will be more than 72 million miles away from our planet. Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) is currently in the constellation of Camelopardalis. The current Right Ascension is 07h 38m 02s and the Declination is +68° 21’ 06”. It is traveling through space at a speed of 34.729 km/s (21.579 mi/s). That is 125,024 km per hour (77, 686 mph). Stay Tuned!
https://youtu.be/6IKhtolwT5c
