Stargazers and amateur astronomers will have their first (and likely only) opportunity to see Comet Catalina this month, as the green, two-tailed celestial object will be visible in the night sky when it passes by the Earth on its way out of the solar system—probably for good.
Catalina, officially known as comet C/2013 US10, is believed to have originated from the Oort Cloud, a spherical mass of billions of icy objects that have a loose and chaotic bond to the solar system, according to NASA. It was first discovered in October 2013 and named in honor of the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona, they added.
The comet, which the CBC said is less than 20 km (nearly 12.4 miles) across, reached perihelion—or the point where it is nearest to the sun—at a distance of 122 million km (76 million miles) back on November 15. Due to its peak velocity of 166,000 km (103,000 miles) per hour, experts at the US space agency believe that the comet is on an escape trajectory from the solar system.
What that means is that this is probably the one and only chance people will have to see Comet Catalina before it essentially vanishes for view from good, and while a few prime opportunities to take a look have already passed by, there will still be plenty of good chances to see it.
So how can I catch a glimpse of this comet before it’s too late?
According to NASA, the best opportunity to see comet C/2013 US10 will be to look in the east just before dawn—weather permitting, of course. The waning gibbous moon could make actually spotting the object difficult, though. Binoculars or a telescope will be essential to your success.
On New Year’s Day, the comet passed 0.5 degrees to the west of Arcturus, a star located in the constellation Bootes in the eastern part of the sky, left and slightly below the moon. That meant that the star, which is the second-brightest in the Northern Hemisphere, made a good guidepost to find the star during the early morning hours, according to NASA.
Alas, the calendar reveals that this particular opportunity has come and gone. However, Michael Watson, an astronomer at the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, told the CBC that another good time to try and catch a glimpse of the comet will be between January 8 and January 10, as there will be no moon in the early morning sky and it will be passing very close to the Earth.
It’s closest approach will be on January 17, when it will pass 110 million km (68 million miles) from the Earth, and Ottawa-based astronomer Gary Boyle told the CBC that it will appear to be a fuzzy, slightly green blob in the sky. Its tails may or may not be visible to the naked eye, he said, but they should appear in photographs taken using a decent-quality digital camera.
—–
Feature Image: NASA
Comments