Science Tips Tips Tricks Technology How to spot ‘Swan Comet’ – ‘best comet in YEARS’ soaring over Earth for the next month
Science Tips Tips Tricks Technology
AN unusually bright comet will grace skies across the globe over the next few weeks.
The dazzling object, known as “Swan”, is so bright that it can be seen with the naked eye – and its next big showing is this week.
Science Tips Tips Tricks Technology What is Comet Swan?
Comet Swan is currently flying past Earth at an average distance of 75million miles.
It’s astonishingly bright for a space object, giving off a greenish glow trailed by a long, blue tail.
Unlike asteroids, which are made of rock, comets are largely made of ice and so leave streaking “tails” of debris behind them.
One Brit astrophotogapher who snapped Swan this week described it as “The best comet I’ve seen in some years!”
Science Tips Tips Tricks Technology When will Comet Swan appear?
Comet Swan is expected to appear in the night sky for stargazers across the globe until late May.
The object will make its closest approach to Earth on May 13, meaning observations around that date will likely be clearest.
Unfortunately, the Southern Hemisphere is expected to get the best view as Swan sails past Earth.
However, stargazers in the US and UK have reported sightings this week.
According to stargazing site Aerith, Swan will be at its brightest over the UK and US towards the end of next month.
“In the Southern Hemisphere, it stays observable in good condition until mid May,” the site says.
“In the Northern Hemisphere, it is only visible in extremely low sky in late May.”
Science Tips Tips Tricks Technology How to spot Comet Swan
Swan is so bright that it should be visible with the naked eye on a clear night.
For up-to-date info on where to look for Swan, you can use stargazing sites like TheSkyLive.
They’ll let you know what constellation the comet is in, and show you a simplified sky chart showing where the object is in relation to the brightest stars and constellations.
Once you’re outside, we’d recommend loading up a stargazing app to help you pinpoint Swan’s location.
On the Apple App Store, we’d recommend Night Sky, which is free and helps you find all kinds of celestial wonders.
For Android fans, SkySafari should do the trick. It’s also available on iPhone.
Alternatively, you can also follow Comet Swan’s Twitter account (yes, really) for regular updates on where the space object is.
+++Good news, my dear Earthlings: I have just brightened from magnitude 6.1 to magnitude 6. I am getting more and more visible to the naked eye!+++ #FollowTheComet
— Comet SWAN (@c2020f8) April 30, 2020
Science Tips Tips Tricks Technology Are any known asteroids or comets a threat to Earth?
Astronomers are currently tracking nearly 2,000 asteroids, comets and other objects that threaten our pale blue dot, and new ones are found every day.
Earth hasn’t seen an asteroid of apocalyptic scale since the space rock that wiped out the dinosaurs 66million years ago.
However, smaller objects capable of flattening an entire city crash into Earth every so often.
One a few hundred metres across devastated 800 square miles of forest near Tunguska in Siberia on June 30, 1908.
Luckily, Nasa doesn’t believe any of the NEOs it keeps an eye on are on a collision course with our planet.
That could change in the coming months or years, however, as the space agency constantly revises objects’ predicted trajectories.
“Nasa knows of no asteroid or comet currently on a collision course with Earth, so the probability of a major collision is quite small,” Nasa says.
“In fact, as best as we can tell, no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several hundred years.”
Even if they were to hit our planet, the vast majority of asteroids would not wipe out life as we know it.
“Global catastrophes” are only triggered when objects larger than 900 metres smash into Earth, according to Nasa.
What’s the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here’s what you need to know, according to Nasa…
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn’t vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vapourising)
Nasa releases footage of mystery alien comet visiting our Solar System – as scientists say it’s ‘like nothing ever seen’
In other news, a giant 2.5-mile-long asteroid soared past Earth yesterday.
Mars may have taken as long as 20million years to form, scientists now claim.
And, Nasa has revealed the design of a moon lander that could be taking astronauts back to the lunar surface by 2024.
What are your thoughts on Comet Swan? Let us know in the comments…
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