Good news!
"The most anticipated comet of 2024"
Purple Mountain-Atlas Comet
October 12: Closest approach to Earth
The best time to see it is here
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Today
It will appear in the evening sky
Phase angle scattering is not taken into account
Expect a brightness of magnitude 2.8
In the event of an outbreak, the brightness may increase
Current sunset time in Beijing
Around 17:39
Interested public
Can be in the western sky after sunset
Find it with the naked eye
Once in 60,000 years! Just today!
The comet came dragging its "little tail".
Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wang Kechao, director of science popularization, introduced
Judging by the pictures of the comet that have been taken
Purple Mountain-Atlas Comet
It is a comet with a yellow comet tail
"As it approaches the Sun, the temperature rises due to increased radiation, and the comet material sublimates, forming hazy coma and a tail of thin material around the comet's nucleus, like a broomstick. The tail of a comet can be divided into ionic tails, which are usually blue in color, and dust tails, which are determined by the sunlight reflected by the dust. ”
△ C/2023 The path of Comet A3 (Purple Mountain-Atlas) through the sky
It is predicted
This year, from October 12th to 20th
All of them were to observe and photograph the comet
The best timing
"Actually, October 4 is the day when the comet reaches its peak brightness, but it is difficult for us to observe it with the naked eye because it is so close to the sun that day." For the Northern Hemisphere public, on Oct. 12, the comet will appear in the western low, shortly after sunset, in the constellation Virgo, but with a short window of about 10 to 20 minutes, Wang said. In the next few days, the comet will be more visible to the naked eye due to its rapidly increasing angular distance from the Sun, and it will be visible in the western sky about an hour after sunset.
In late October, the comet's brightness waned, but as the angular distance from the Sun continued to increase, the public could observe it for a longer period of time, with a two- to three-hour observation period after dark.
Since the comet's orbit is parabolic, its brightness decreases as it moves away from the Sun and Earth, and according to current forecasts, it will be difficult to observe with the naked eye from about November.
△ On October 3, at dawn in Nanjing, the Purple Mountain-Atlas Comet rose in the eastern sky
Expert presentation
The comet was on January 9 last year
by Nanjing Purple Mountain Observatory
It was first discovered by the Xuyi Observatory
It was named Purple Mountain-Atlas Comet
According to astronomers' calculations, this is a comet with a retrograde orbit. That is, the comet orbits the Sun in the opposite direction to the direction of the Sun's rotation (from west to east). At the same time, the comet orbits in a near-parabolic elliptical orbit, and it takes 61,751 years to complete a magnificent journey around the sun.
△ Simulation: On October 12, the angular distance between the comet and the Sun reached 14° at sunset
Observation tips
Experts remind
Observing and photographing comets
It is better to choose a place that is not affected by the light
Comet observation can be used
Astronomical telescopes or binoculars
Shooting should be fixed with a tripod
When shooting with a camera
The aperture needs to be adjusted to the maximum
Adjust to the appropriate sensitivity
The shutter speed is generally less than 5 seconds
You will be able to photograph this fascinating comet
△ On October 3, at dawn in Nanjing, the Purple Mountain-Atlas Comet rose in the eastern sky
Rare romantic astrological signs
Who do you want to share it with?
Source: CCTV news client