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His name is very festive: 46P / Wirtanen.
The 46P completes its orbit every 5 years and, most of the time, pbades for the first time far from the Earth. to be visible to us. Astronomers estimate that this pbadage will be closer to Earth in 70 years
On December 16, however, the comet could be seen here, according to the US Space Agency (NASA). For astronomy enthusiasts, a novelty will come: it will be the brightest comet to pbad near the planet in the last 20 years. "Even if it is noticeable, the comet will be about 11.6 million kilometers from the Earth (about 30 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon)."
] Although it may seem
According to observers from the Wirtanen Comet of the University of Maryland, at least in the United States, the conditions of observation will be excellent.
The university, which has an Internet page dedicated to tracking the 46P, says that the comet should be visible "almost all night" in the northern and southern hemispheres at pbadage.
According to academics, the appearance of 2018 will be historic for a reason: it will be the tenth comet to get closer to the Earth sometime modern
Green and hyperactive
The "Christmas comet" is green . Color is recurrent in comets, such as Lovejoy and Machhol, and is due to its coma – the glowing cloud of gas and dust that surrounds it. It contains cyanogen and diatomic carbon, which glow green when they are ionized by sunlight.
The "Christmas comet" is also "hyperactive". "The effect is due to the fact that the 46P core contains a large amount of volatile ice that is heating up," says the University of Maryland (19659002). and feeds coma, while the comet moves at a speed of 34,200 km / h.
The appearance of the 46P should have been the most memorable since it was discovered by Carl Wirtanen 70 years ago at Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton. , California, January 17, 1948.
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