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A rare astronomical phenomenon repeats itself later this month, 50,000 years after it occurred.
Scientists and lovers of astronomical phenomena await the passage of the comet “C/2022 E3 (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 this january..
The discovery of this small rocky and icy body, with an estimated diameter of about one kilometer, dates back to March 2022, and has been monitored by the ZTF Sky Survey Program.” (Zwicky Transient Facility) Who operates the Samuel-Oshin telescope at Palomar Observatory, California, USA.
The comet was observed as it passed Jupiter’s orbit, and is currently on its way towards the sun and will come closest to it on Jan. 12, according to astronomers’ calculations..
Nicolas Biver, of the Paris-BSL Observatory, said that the celestial body will therefore be at a distance from the sun of about 10 percent greater than the distance that separates planet Earth from it (about 150 million km)..
When a comet approaches the sun, the ice in its nucleus sublimates, i.e. it passes from a solid state to a gaseous state, leaving a long trail of dust that reflects sunlight..
This dust, which looks like shiny hair, is what you’ll be able to see from Earth as the comet approaches.
The comet reaches its peak brightness “when it’s closest to Earth,” said Thomas Prince, a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology who works for ZTF.“.
However, this phenomenon will be less exciting than the passage of comets “Hale-Bopp” in 1997 and “New Wise” in 2020, which are much larger..
The star can be seen easily with binoculars, and perhaps even with the naked eye during part of the night if lunar radiation is not strong and the sky is free of light pollution..
Astrophysicist Nicholas Beaver is hoping for a “good surprise” that makes the comet glow “twice as bright as expected.”“.
Observed by James Webb
The best timeslot to observe the comet will probably be January 21 and 22 and the week after..
During this time the comet will pass between the two constellations of stars, ‘Ursa Minor’ and ‘Ursa Major’, before heading towards the Southern Hemisphere and then returning to the far reaches of the solar system, which is believed to be its primary position..
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 one light-year away from the Sun, within the limits of the field..
“The inclination of the map of its orbit leads to the belief that it is a long-period comet originating from the Oort cloud,” explained Beaver.“.
It won’t be the first ice comet to pass close to the sun, as it already had a similar experience 50,000 years ago..
Then the comet returned in the opposite direction, but did not get as far as the Oort cloud. As for this time, it is likely to be “expelled from the solar system permanently“.
This last step will be an opportunity for scientists to understand more about the formation of comets, provided by the observations made by the “James Webb” space telescope..
“We’ll be monitoring it from all angles,” Beaver said. It is true that it is not the comet of the century, but we are happy to observe such comets every year or two, because we consider them traces of the formation of the solar system.“.
As for Thomas Prince, he commented that this “rare visitor will bring information about the inhabitants of the farthest part of the farthest planets in Earth’s solar system.”“.
