Appearing for the first time in 50 thousand years...an astronomical phenomenon seen with the naked eye approaching the disk of the sun
Scientists and astronomical phenomenon enthusiasts are anticipating the passage of comet C/2022E3 (ZTF) this week near the sun, as it is the first time in 50,000 years, and it will be possible to see this newly discovered comet with the naked eye at the end of last January.
The discovery of this small rocky and icy body, whose diameter is estimated at about one kilometer, dates back to March 2022, and it was observed by the Zwicky Transient Facility, which runs the Samuel-Ocean telescope at the Palomar Observatory in the US state of California.
The comet was observed as it passed through the orbit of Jupiter, and it is currently heading towards the sun and will reach its closest point on January 12, according to astronomers’ calculations.
Nicolas Biver of the Paris-PSL Observatory told Agence France-Presse that the celestial body will then be at a distance from the sun about 10 percent greater than the distance separating planet Earth from it (about 150 million kilometers).
When a comet approaches the sun, the ice in its nucleus sublimates, i.e. changes from a solid state to a gaseous state, and leaves a long trail of dust that reflects sunlight.
This dust, which looks like shiny hair, is what will be able to be seen from Earth as the comet approaches.
The comet reaches its peak brightness “when it is closest to Earth,” according to Thomas Prince, a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology who works for ZTF.
However, this phenomenon will be less dramatic than the passage of comets Hale-Bopp in 1997 and New WISE in 2020, which are much larger.
The star can be easily seen using binoculars, and perhaps even with the naked eye during part of the night, if the moon's radiation is not strong and the sky is free of light pollution.
Astrophysicist Nicholas Pifer hopes for a “good surprise” that will make the comet’s brightness “twice as strong as expected.”
The best time slice for viewing the comet is likely to be on January 21 and 22 and the following week.
During this period, the comet will pass between the two constellations of stars, Ursa Minor and Ursa Major, before heading to the southern hemisphere and then returning to the borders of the solar system, which is believed to be its primary location.
According to current models, comets come from two reservoirs: the “Kuiper Belt” behind the orbit of Neptune, or the “Oort Cloud,” which is a large theoretical region located a light-year away from the Sun, within the limits of the gravitational field.
Beaver explained that “the inclination of its orbital plan suggests that it is a long-period comet originally coming from the Oort Cloud.”
The icy comet’s first passage will not be near the Sun, as it has previously He had a similar experience 50 thousand years ago.
The comet then headed back in the other direction, but it didn't go as far as the Oort cloud. This time, it is likely that he will be “permanently removed from the solar system.”
This final passage will be an opportunity for scientists to understand more about the formation of comets, provided by observations made by the James Webb Space Telescope.
“We will monitor him from all angles,” Beaver said. It is true that it is not the comet of the century, but we are happy with our ability to monitor such comets every year or two, because we consider them to be traces of the formation of the solar system.”
As for Thomas Prince, he commented by saying that this “rare visitor” will bring “information about + the inhabitants of + the farthest part of the farthest planets in the Earth’s solar system.”
Source: French