Comet Lulin moving closer to Earth
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Stargazers are in for a treat next month as Comet Lulin is moving closer to Earth and will be visible to the naked eye.
The comet is swinging around the Sun and approaching the Earth. The photogenic Lulin has a bright tail and an "anti-tail". At its closest approach in February, Comet Lulin is expected to brighten to naked-eye visibility, reaching a magnitude of six.
The comet is at present moving between the constellations Scorpio and Libra.
Lulin is expected to head towards Leo at an accelerated pace late next month.
The comet will pass 0.41 Astronomical Units from earth and reach its closest distance to Earth on February 24, about 14.5 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
Lulin was the first comet jointly discovered by astronomers across the Taiwan Strait in 2007.
The discovery of Comet Lulin (C/2227 N3) was part of a major achievement made by the Lulin Sky Survey project to explore the various populations of small bodies in the solar system, especially objects that could be a hazard to the Earth.
Astronomers at the Taipei Astronomical Museum said the tail of Lulin would be most visible during the time it moves closest to the Earth.
Lulin will be observable low in the sky in an east-southeast direction before dawn, the museum said.
Bureau Report
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6 comments:
I have always thought that the earth would met its end from an Asteroid strike.
JT
www.Privacy-Center.net
Apophis hasn't arrived just yet...
Earth has been hit by many asteroids and not met its end. There's even a theory that a mars-sized planetoid hit Earth 4 billion years ago which led to the creation of the moon. If something that big did not destroy it I doubt any asteroid could. Of course, human civilization is another matter.
If all of humanity dies, is that not the same as if the Earth met its end, as far as we know?
There's more to Earth than just humanity, so no.
It sounds interesting, I wonder if it'll be visible from NE Arkansas?
As for Apophis, that one's supposed to make a really close approach last I read. I'll have to check up on it again.
And no, the Earth isn't going to be destroyed by an asteroid, though I have no doubt that there will be at least one serious strike.
Lastly, Dude, the popup thing has to go. It not only slows down the page something awful to the point of making it barely useable, it somehow managed to get launched even though I've got my browser set to deny unrequested popups.
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