This article comes from the WeChat public account:nut shell (ID: Guokr42), author: EasyNight, edit: Steed, head Figure: July 7 in the morning comet appeared in the sky, taken in Beijing Lingshan | Steed
The comet is here! A bright comet exclusive to the northern hemisphere, really coming!
Comets are small objects in the solar system, a mixture of ice and debris, and astronomers liken it to a “dirty snowball.” As the comet approaches the sun, it is gradually heated, releasing volatile gas and blowing out dust, forming a comet tail.
Great comets, especially those magnificent comets that are so bright or stay in the night sky for a long time that they cause large-scale public discussion.
Comet McKnuette in 2007 is a typical “big comet”. It is brighter than Venus when it is the brightest, and the tail of the comet is very long and magnificent. Even in the city, you can enjoy its magnificence.
It is a pity that only the southern hemisphere could see such a spectacular scene.
McKnot Comet that appeared in the Southern Hemisphere in 2007 | ESA
McKnott shines above the city, the brightness is not inferior to the city lights | APOD
McKnot Comet and the Milky Way | APOD
In an age where science is gradually gaining in popularity, comets are no longer as they used to be, and are regarded as a symbol of disaster by most people. When the magnificent comet comes, people more and more feel the charm of the starry sky and the power of nature, and many people embark on the path of scientific research because of a comet that will be memorable for life.
However, in the northern hemisphere, many people still remember the comet’s comet in 1997, Comet Haier-Pop. After that, there have been no big comets in the night sky for many years. The new generations in the northern hemisphere have not even had the opportunity to see the comet as a spectacle of nature.
Comet Hailepu in 1997 showed such a spectacle after sunset in the northern hemisphere | APOD
Bright comet “enchantment”
There seems to be a “enchantment” of bright comets in the northern hemisphere sky. Whenever a bright comet visible to the naked eye is about to appear in the night sky of the northern hemisphere, it will have various accidents on the way.
Several comets have “attempted” to break the northern hemisphere, and even inferred from early observations that they can become super comets visible in the daytime. However, they either crush their bones before the brightness is visible to the naked eye, or cease to be active in the middle and slowly disappear, without exception.
For example, comet ISON in 2013, preliminary observations that year showed that this comet will reach a brightness close to the full moon when it is close to the sun, even visible in the daytime. The media promoted it as the “Great Comet of the Century” in the northern hemisphere. As a result, it ceased to be active when it was still far from the sun, and disintegrated as it approached the sun, becoming the famous “pigeon” comet.
In 2013, Comet ISON dragged an elegant comet tail from the bottom right of the screen to approach the sun, and gradually shattered and dissipated after the perihelion, leaving from the top right | NASA、 ESA, SOHO
The start of 2020 is also a “beautiful first pigeon” trend. Many comets sang a dull curtain call in the background, and even turned off the stage without lifting the curtain.
For example, ATLAS comet, which was originally expected to be this yearMay shines brilliantly, and its brightness may even exceed that of the moon, so that astronomers in the northern hemisphere are really excited. As a result, it was only in April that the comet ATLAS came into Mars’ orbit, and it collapsed. Broken together with the comet, there is the restless heart of astronomy lovers in the northern hemisphere.
The Hubble Telescope “looks” atlas ATLAS into more than 20 fragments | NASA, HST
Fortunately, the next player temporarily comforted the northern hemisphere lovers. The SWAN comet discovered in March this year was shining brightly in the southern hemisphere. The detailed ion comet tail was impressive. And it is about to turn to the night sky in the northern hemisphere, and it is expected to become brighter.
SWAN Comet at the end of April, shines in the Southern Hemisphere | APOD
As everyone was eagerly anticipating, SWAN Comet suddenly stopped brightening, and then the brightness quickly fell.
Yes, you guessed it, this spectacular SWAN comet has also shattered, with the heart of the Northern Hemisphere lovers broken again! Comet SWAN is getting stronger in the southern hemisphereIn view, after it is crushed, the regrets left to the Northern Hemisphere lovers are more profound.
Two consecutive “stars” of hope have been shattered one after another, so even after the news that bright comets may appear later, you can’t see the fans excited because the entire northern hemisphere, astronomy hobby The heart of the person has long been cold.
The hope of witnessing the big comet flooded my mind again and again, but it suddenly turned into ice despair again and again.
“Broken Wall” Comet Assaulted the Northern Hemisphere
The drama of nature is often beyond imagination. At the most desperate moment, a comet, also found in March this year, has moved quietly towards the inside of the solar system.
According to the time when it was discovered, the comet was assigned the C/2020 F3 number and named after the survey program that discovered it, called NEOWISE Comet.
Comet NEOWISE maintained a steady increase in brightness from March to May, but its brightness never reached the level visible to the naked eye. Soon thereafter, it moved to the vicinity of the sun, and all observations on the ground by the sun stopped.
Until June 22 this year, Comet NEOWISE entered the coronagraph field of view of the SOHO solar heliospheric observation satellite. At this time, everyone was surprised to find: “God, this comet is so bright!”
comet NEOWISE (right) appears in the field of view of the SOHO coronagraph | NASA, ESA, SOHO
Following this trend, until it leaves the sun in early July, it appears inWhen it is in the sky before sunrise in the northern hemisphere, it will be as bright as the Vega, and people can see the comet rising directly in the city!
After being tortured by the spirits of the first few comets, this time astronomers in the northern hemisphere chose to calm down, because everyone knows the truth of “the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment”.
But this time, comet NEOWISE “made a lot of money” and really broke through the “enchantment” of the comet in the northern hemisphere, which brought a big surprise to the people who came to Kuwanliang.
On July 6, Comet NEOWISE rose from above the city and was taken in Beijing Dingdu Pavilion | Li Zhaoqi
July 6, NEOWISE Comet and Great Wall, taken in Yanqing, Beijing|EasyNight
The maximum brightness of Comet NEOWISE reaches about 1st level, which is similar to that of Cowherd.It has therefore become the brightest comet on Earth after Comet Pan and Comet ISON in 2013, and This time it will be visible all over the country!
In areas where the atmosphere is transparent, we can easily see it with our naked eyes. When admiring it in binoculars, you can even see the fluffy and smooth comet tail extending beyond the field of view.
Close-up of NEOWISE comet rising from the mountain captured by a telephoto lens | EasyNight
July 7th, a photo of NEOWISE Comet and Lighthouse, taken in Zhuhai Seaside Park | Robin, Night Sky China
NEOWISE Comet Observation Guide
The bright comet “enchantment” in the northern hemisphere was finally broken! How should you appreciate this comet? Don’t worry, the EN bacteria has prepared information about comet NEOWISE.
The comet passed the perihelion on July 4 and remained above the 2nd grade before the 10th, relatively bright. Before sunrise, it will rise from the northeast, and (even in cities) will have the opportunity to be naked Seeing that using binoculars will have a better viewing experience.
Before July 12, the position of the comet before sunrise, taking 40 degrees north latitude as an example|EasyNight
On July 15, the comet’s right ascension value exceeds the sun, and it is more suitable for viewing in the northwest after sunset, but the brightness will also drop to 3~4, etc., then you will need binoculars to help you watch this Comet. But throughout mid-July, the brightness of the comet will remain good.
Since July 13th, the position of comets before sunrise, taking 40 degrees north latitude as an example | EasyNight
After the end of July, the brightness of Comet NEOWISE will continue to decline to a level that is difficult for the naked eye to see directly, and the ornamental value will decline. But in the northwest sky after sunset, its ground level will gradually increase, providing better shooting opportunities for conditional astrophotographers.
Next, the comet will become darker and darker, gradually leaving the inner solar system. Its next return will wait until about 7000 years later.
July 7, watching the comet rise in Lingshan, Beijing | Steed
Hurry up now and set off to enjoy this brightest comet in 7 years!
Although Comet NEOWISE is not a “big comet” in terms of brightness, it has brought many surprises to Northern Hemisphere astronomy enthusiasts who have been blocked by “enchantment” for many years.
After all, if you miss this one, you don’t know how long to wait for the next one…
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