US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — A Hawaiian group of astronomers noted that in a few months people will be able to see the comet ATLAS with their naked eyes if it does not burn out at perihelion.
Perihelion is the first point closest to the Sun in relation to the orbit of a cosmic body. The comet was first noticed on December 28 last year at a distance of 439 million km from our star.
Now the brightness level of an object is estimated at 20 stellar magnitudes, which is very small (the human eye will not catch the light). However, on May 31, when the comet flies past the Earth, the value will increase to 9 magnitudes (the smaller it is, the brighter the object). Even in the afternoon, people will be able to watch ATLAS.
The body can be destroyed by the sun. Scientists cannot say for sure whether it can withstand the impact, because they do not know the chemical composition of the object.
The last time comets like ATLAS flew over the northern hemisphere 13 years ago. Then the experts spoke about the bodies of Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp.
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