Wednesday, March 29, 2006

They're Baaack

Whoa! This May 12, 13, & 14 2006, there are going to be comet fragments that are going to fly past Earth closer than any comet has come in almost 80 years! The closest it will be is about 6 million miles away. Which is close with out a danger of collision. (Which would have been very bad for us.)


Back in 1995, Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, surprised astronomers by breaking apart. Now, they are considered "mini-comets". Since then, they have named it the "string-of-pearls." They're thinking it became unstable and broke up due to the Sun's heat. After all, comets are really dirty ice-balls.

It's unlikely, but astronomers think that the dust from the 1995 break up has produced dust that will make its way to earth. This may mean that we will have a nice display of meteor showers at night. It's worth facing a chilly night outdoors to check out anyway.

They aren't very bright to the un-aided eye. (3rd - 4th in star magnitude) If you really want to check them out, its best to find a location away from the bright city lights and make sure to bring your patience and your binoculars.

Their location will be through the constellations Cygnus and Pegasus.

Don't forget to bundle up and to bring the coffee!

2 comments:

pablo said...

"And I don't want to miss a thing." (c) Aerosmith

trazomfreak said...

Yeah, you'll probably miss it....these things usually take place around 4am or so. Zzzzz.......

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