TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Comet rarities that move closer to the Sun, Komet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), reached its closest point to the Sun, also known as its perihelion, on Thursday, January 12, 2023. The comet is approximately 160 million kilometers from the Sun.
Following perihelion, the comet will then move toward Earth, which is making its closest approach to our planet (perigee) on February 2 at a distance of 42 million kilometers.
Astronomical Observatory Center THROW Lampung (OAIL) managed to capture this rare comet on Monday, January 16 2023, 05.00-05.15 WIB in the morning.
Aditya Abdillah Yusuf, an OAIL researcher, expressed his joy in obtaining this rare object considering that the sky in Lampung is often overcast in the early hours of the morning.
“I’m happy, finally caught after so many cloudy days. Miraculously the sky cleared at dawn,” wrote Aditya in a short message, January 18, 2023. And now, the sky is cloudy again. The image was taken remotely on the ITERA campus using the OZT-ALTS robotic telescope.
Another joy of Aditya that the robotic telescope is working properly. “This tool has been assembled and operational since the end of 2021. But this is the first time it has been used to observe comets,” he explained.
According to him, the OZT-ALTS robotic telescope is actually devoted to viewing the new moon or moon. “However, we can see the potential for other observations, such as comets, exoplanets, and nebulae,” said Aditya.
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
Comets are large celestial bodies with long tails made of dust and ice and orbit the sun. Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was discovered by astronomers Bryce Bolin and Frank Masci using data from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) on March 2, 2022.
This comet is called rare because of its hyperbolic orbit, which results in its arrival only once in a lifetime.
According to the period, comets are divided into two types. First, comets with a short period of time orbiting the Sun less than 200 years, while long periods with a period of 200 to millions of years. In general, there are three types of comet orbits, namely ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas.
Other OAIL work
Previously, large space debris, the former PRC CZ5B launch rocket weighing around 20 tons measuring 30 meters, had been confirmed to have passed through several countries. Apart from Malaysia and the Philippines, several provinces in Indonesia are also passed through, including Lampung.
OAIL also managed to record the space junk. Aditya, who at that time was also part of the observation team, was very happy to have succeeded in getting a lively object of conversation.
THROW
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