The Planet with Guilt Is Comet's Comet Near Earth?

Shadi Abdel-Hafiz

During the past February and March, a broad global and Arab debate arose about a new comet approaching the Earth called "Atlas", with ongoing rumors of an approaching incident. And that news has spread widely due to the worries that the world is suffering today due to the outbreak of the new Corona virus.

Atlas in the sky
In fact, there is already a comet called "Atlas" (C / 2019 Y4 ATLAS), which was discovered in late December 2019, and was captured by NASA's electronic observatory, and its time was so quiet that it It can only be seen with special telescopes.

At that time the comet was passing through the sky alongside the group of stars of the Big Dipper, but by March 20, the brightness of the comet had risen so much that it was possible for amateurs to spot it with their small telescopes, and now with binoculars as well.

During this period, the comet's structure became more evident, as it consists of a head in which rocks and snow mix, appearing in a greenish color in the color images due to the presence of primarily two-atomic carbon within its components, with a tail length of 3.3 million km.

This type of comet comes from the far ends of the solar system, where it takes an oval orbit that approaches the sun in some periods and then turns away from it to return again to the ends of the solar system, and NASA researchers believe that it completes one cycle every about 5519 years.

Will we see an atlas soon?
The comet now crosses the orbit of Mars, coming towards the sun, where it will pass next to it about a quarter of an astronomical unit, that is, a quarter of the distance between the sun and the earth, then complete its cycle back to deep space.

According to the trace of the comet in the sky, it is likely that its brightness will increase as it passes through the group of giraffe stars, and it may appear next May that the eye will clearly see it, but it will not be close to the earth as some of the news that fill social media sites.

Where it can only be seen as a cloud shining like a star after sunset if you look northeast, and that, in its simplicity, will be a fun event for adults and children alike.

Unfortunately, however, this is not certain, as the comet is small in size, and can fragment as it approaches the sun, and astronomical observations have already indicated that Atlas, despite its increased luminosity, is experiencing a perturbation in brightness from time to time, and this is due to the possibility that it is in The stage of fragmentation.

In any case, the comet Atlas is indeed the brightest in the sky of 2020, but the matter is not as some portray it, it will not be the brightest from a small star, and in no way represents - according to the unit of anticipation of objects close to NASA's Earth's circumference - any near danger.

This type of astronomical phenomena is usual for Earth, and in 1997 Comet Haley passed us by and was a pleasant sight that the media circulated and many came out to meditate on. Unfortunately, an atlas may not have hally glow in May, but if it appears, even slightly, it will be a good opportunity. To see guilty in the sky.