Goodbye Comet Leonard – Kompas.id

Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard has now moved away from Earth, is approaching Venus and will continue to visit the Sun. Astronomers have limited time to extract information from comets. In fact, this small object holds many records of the early history of the Solar System and the formation of life on Earth.

Comet Leonard reached its closest distance to Earth of 35 million kilometers (km) or the equivalent of 91 times the average Earth-Moon distance on Sunday (12/12/2021) at 20:32 WIB. At that time, as quoted from the website of the European Space Agency (ESA), the comet was moving at a speed of 47 km per second or nearly 170,000 km per hour.

Next, on its way to the Sun, the comet will be in its closest position to Planet Venus as far as 2.6 million km and will be reached on December 18, 2021. Then, Leonard will reach perihelion or its closest point to the Sun as far as 90 million km on January 3, 2022.

Also Read: Comet Leonard is getting farther away from Earth and getting closer to the sun

Indonesians refer to comets as “tailed stars” because of their appearance, which looks like a glowing ball, has a tail, and its position keeps shifting from night to night. The closer to the sun, the comet will appear brighter and its tail will be longer.

While the Javanese people know comets as latitudes and cubes. The appearance of this object is often associated with ontran-ontran, chaos, chaos or outbreaks, and disasters, such as what happened during the passage of Comet C/2019 Y4 ATLAS in April 2020 which was associated with the start of the spread of Covid-19 in Indonesia (Compass, 25 April 2020).

Also Read: Latitudes and Signs of the Covid-19 Pandemic Disaster

This journey towards the Sun is Leonard’s life and death struggle. If he was able to survive the fierce tug of the Sun’s gravity, it was likely that he would survive. Otherwise, this comet will shatter into pieces like many other comets have.

The problem is, the brightness of the comet, which should increase as it gets closer to the Sun, doesn’t happen to Leonard. The comet’s light has dimmed, and previous experience has shown that it is an early sign of the comet’s collapse.

From early to December 11, 2021, the comet was visible in the northeast near the horizon just before dawn. Next from December 14, 2021 until the end of the month, Leonard will be seen in the Southwest some time after sunset with a position also near the horizon.

This journey towards the Sun is Leonard’s life and death struggle. If he was able to survive the fierce tug of the Sun’s gravity, it was likely that he would survive.

Comet researcher at the University of Maryland, United States, Quanzhi Ye, as quoted Space, December 9, 2021, emphasized that the comet’s destruction could only be confirmed by direct observation. This observation is not easy. In addition to weather constraints, the dim light and low position of the comet make the comet’s light vulnerable to being obscured by the light of dawn or dusk.

Therefore, amid the limited time window for comet observation, comet hunters and researchers around the world are in a race against time to observe, image, and obtain the spectrum of Comet Leonard. Although a number of professional and amateur astronomers in several countries have obtained Leonard’s image, until now there have been no reports of Indonesian astronomers who have also managed to capture it due to the ongoing rainy season in various regions.

Origin

Comet C/2021 A1 is the first comet to be discovered in 2021. Astronomer Gregory J Leonard of Mount Lemmon Observatory, Tucson, Arizona, USA, was the first to discover it. Therefore, this comet is also called Leonard.

Comet Leonard’s place of origin is estimated to be 3,500 astronomical units (AU) away. An astronomical unit is a distance unit often used in astronomy that describes the average distance from the Sun to the Earth as far as 150 million km. The comet’s initial home was in the Oort Cloud region, which is a region on the edge of the Solar System that is 2,000-100,000 AU away.

The Oort cloud, citing data from the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is home to most comets. In an area filled with rock, dust, and ice, it is estimated that there are billions of potential comets. When a star passes near the Solar System, the balance of comets will be disturbed until they are finally attracted to the interior of the Solar System towards the Sun.

Also Read: Understanding Latitude and Cube Metaphysics

Apart from the Oort Cloud, comets can also come from the Kuiper Belt region, which is the region in the outer part of the Solar System after the Planet Neptune, which is 30-50 AU away. This area contains many Trans-Neptunian objects, such as dwarf planets, small rocks, and comet material.

Comets originating from the Oort Cloud generally have long periods, which can reach thousands of years. That’s what happened to Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard, which takes up to 80,000 years to orbit the Sun once. Comets originating from the Kuiper Belt generally only take less than 200 years to orbit the Sun once.

Although it is estimated that there are billions of comets, the ESA says there are only 3,775 known comets. Objects that are small, irregularly shaped, cold, do not emit light and far away make it very difficult to observe comets.

So far, the existence of comets is only known when the comet approaches Earth or is in the vicinity of the Sun and is monitored by astronomers. Therefore, when the discovery of a new comet is announced, professional and amateur astronomers will try to observe it.

Also Read: Goodbye Comet NEOWISE

Comets are interesting celestial objects to study. Quoted from EarthSky, November 14, 2018, comets and asteroids can help humans understand the early processes of the formation of the Solar System. Comets, asteroids, and a number of other small objects are the remnants of material that formed the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago. The material then continues to revolve around the Sun even though the gravitational influence of the giant planets sends it flying off the outer and outer edges of the Solar System.

Comets and asteroids also help astronomers understand the development or evolution of the planets in the Solar System. As the comet moves towards the Sun, the dust and ice material on the surface of the burning comet will be left behind in space.

Furthermore, when the Earth crosses the former path of the comet’s trajectory, the remaining material from the comet’s combustion will enter the atmosphere and fall on the Earth’s surface. The comet’s remnant material contains amino acids which are the building blocks of protein and the basic building blocks of life. From this process, the view that calls comets is the trigger for the emergence of living things on Earth comes from.

Not only that, before life appeared on Earth, comets and asteroids are also believed to carry Earth-supporting materials, such as water that forms Earth’s oceans. The water is bound in certain minerals that come from even more ancient materials, namely the materials that make up the Solar System.

However, the encounter of the Earth with comets and asteroids is not only a blessing, but also carries the threat of disaster. The extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago as quoted Scientific Reports, February 15, 2021, was also triggered by the collision of a long-period comet with Earth. Therefore, the collision of comets and asteroids against Earth not only threatens humans, but also the survival of life on Earth.

This security issue has now prompted various space agencies to have programs for monitoring near-Earth comets and asteroids, including preparing strategies and mitigation processes when the threat is real. Thus, the security and safety of living things on Earth can be protected and the sustainability of Earth’s life can be maintained.

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