[The Epoch Times, January 31, 2023](Reported by Epoch Times reporter Chu Fangming in Toronto) The last time a green comet appeared on the earth, it was a long, long time ago. The comet will be visible on February 1 or 2 for the first time since it passed Earth 50,000 years ago.
“It (Green Comet) ) will pass Corona Borealis just before sunrise in Toronto, and February 1st is the best day to see it.”
“The observatory plans to target this interesting object with our one-meter telescope,” she said:
Torontonians may need binoculars or a small telescope to see the green comet. Best to avoid bright city lights as much as possible.
“It depends on the light pollution in the area where the observer is, and whether the sky is clear or cloudy,” said Sarah Rugheimer, assistant professor at the University of York and chair of the Public Understanding of Astronomy at the Allen I. Caswell Observatory. “
The Observatory hosts University of Georgia radio programs and online public viewing on Monday (January 30) from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm, in addition to live online television on Wednesday (February 1) from 7:30 pm, if the weather Allowed, probably one of the best ways to observe comets.
Last year in California, two astronomers discovered the comet.
Comets are huge celestial bodies made of dust and ice. They orbit the sun in elliptical orbits, accelerating as they approach perihelion (the point in an object’s orbit when it is closest to the sun), and slowing down slightly as they recede into the outermost layers of the solar system.
Each comet has its own period, with short-period comets passing the sun every 200 years or less, and this green comet having a period of 50,000 years.
By mid-February, the comet will be gone. There are simulation models showing that it can “escape” the solar system, essentially surpassing the sun’s gravity, which means it will never come back, or at least not for millions of years.
Editor in charge: Wen Fang