Amateur astronomers may soon be able to see a comet that was initially discovered in the distant in 2017.
The megacomet Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein, discovered last year, has lately supplanted Comet C/2017 K2, often known as K2, as the furthest active comet ever discovered. K2 is noteworthy for activity even when compared to one superlative. It is more common for comets to awaken near Jupiter's orbit, considerably closer in, as opposed to when the comet first started spewing gas and dust in the far outer solar system.
The frozen body is now finally getting closer to Earth and its amateur astronomers after five years. On July 14, K2 will make its closest visit to Earth, and on December 19, it will make its closest approach to the sun.
People using modest telescopes should be able to see K2 shortly, assuming it survives the sweltering ride and keeps becoming brighter, according to EarthSky(opens in new tab).
According to EarthSky, "it should brighten to magnitude 8 or even 7, still too weak for the unassisted eye."In gloomy skies, observers with keen eyesight may typically find stars of magnitude 6 without any assistance. To see this comet with a telescope, you will also need to be in an area without light pollution.
According to EarthSky, "the contrast will be better the darker the skies,"
Professional observatories may be able to determine the size of the comet's nucleus as it approaches Earth. The nucleus of K2 may be between 18 and 100 miles (30 and 160 kilometers) across, according to early studies by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT); however, Hubble Space Telescope scans showed it may only be 11 miles (18 km) at most, according to EarthSky.
The coma, or hazy atmosphere, of the comet likely contains oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, all of which turned from solid to gas when the comet warmed, according to Hubble photos from 2017.
K2 may have been active as early as 2013, when it was positioned halfway between the orbits of Uranus and Neptune, according to an archive search of CFHT images, NASA said at the time.
However, all forecasts of comet activity are tentative. When comets approach the extreme heat and gravity of our sun, they are more likely to fragment or brighten suddenly. However, scientists who seek to comprehend the construction of comets find them all the more fascinating because of this property.
