The Cayman Islands Astronomical Society will be making its telescopes available to stargazers on two evenings to give them a chance to view a comet in the night sky.
Comet C2022 E3 (ZTF) can be seen in the north, rising very late at night, according to the Astronomical Society’s Tiyen Miller. However, he says, it will rise earlier and earlier each evening, and will soon be visible after dusk.
But, as the moon is now becoming brighter each day, it will make the comet harder to see, “so it’s a bit of a paradox”.
At its closest approach to Earth, on 1 Feb., it will be more than 26 million miles away.
Miller said he had been able to see the comet, using binoculars, on recent nights, as “a very dim ‘cloud’, and it is really not currently visible to the naked eye”.
Going to a site that is very dark along the north shores of the islands is a good strategy for spotting the comet, he said, but suggests using a phone app or www.stellarium-web.org on a computer to determine exactly where to look.
The comet was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility on 2 March last year, and has been nicknamed the ‘green comet’, because of the bright green glow around its nucleus, caused by the effect of sunlight on its molecules.
According to NASA, it is a long-period comet believed to come from the Oort Cloud, the most distant region of the solar system.
The Cayman Islands Astronomical Society is scheduling two public viewing events, one on Saturday, 28 Jan. where there will be a “slight chance” of seeing the comet, and the next on Monday, 6 Feb. when it is likely to be far more visible.
Miller said 28 Jan., after sunset, “may be a ‘sweet spot’ between a brightening moon, and the closest approach of the comet which will be on 1 Feb. The comet will be visible once the skies become dark, but will be very low above the horizon in the North.”
On that evening, the Astronomical Society will hold a public stargazing event at Spotts cruise terminal, from 6:30pm, to check out the last chance to see Saturn this year, but “there’s also a slight chance we can see the comet too”, Miller said.
He said the “other sweet spot” for the comet will be on Monday, 6 Feb., when it will be almost overhead, and the almost full moon will not rise until about 7:15pm.
On that night, the group plans to hold an event at Seven Mile Public Beach from 6:30pm to 8pm, “as it will really be the best chance to see it for the general public at ‘normal hours'”.
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