Comet McNaught Will Be Visible to our Solar System this Month

It's been a long time since a comet was visible to the naked eye. Only Halley's Comet has been visible from Earth and only passes every 75 to 76 years, so the probability is you can probably see Halley's comet once in your lifetime. Comet McNaught is nearing the earth and is getting brighter as it gets nearer to the sun. Comet McNaught is set to be most visible by mid June, hopefully we get a glimpse of it from the Philippines.

This is Halley's Comet

Here is Comet McNaught

Comet McNaught, also known as the Great Comet of 2007 and given the designation C/2006 P1, is a non-periodic comet discovered on August 7, 2006 by British-Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught.[2] It was the brightest comet for over 40 years, and was easily visible to the naked eye for observers in the Southern Hemisphere in January and February 2007.
With an estimated peak magnitude of -5.5, the comet was the second brightest since 1935.[3] Around perihelion on January 12, it was visible worldwide in broad daylight. Its tail measured an estimated 35 degrees in length at its peak.[4]
Given its estimated eccentricity over 1.0, suggesting a hyperbolic trajectory, it is believed McNaught will leave the Solar System and never be seen again.
Wikipedia

On Twitter...

spacefuture: Comet McNaught Approaches Earth With Jupiter Sized Atmosphere #space http://bit.ly/ajlE90

WildlyDiff: RT @RogerHighfield: RT @madgestar: A New Comet McNaught Could Be Seen with Naked Eye http://bit.ly/ahOIsP

madgestar: A New Comet McNaught Could Be Seen with Naked Eye http://bit.ly/ahOIsP

NASASTS_128: Comet McNaught Becoming Visible to the Unaided Eye http://shar.es/mApA9

madgestar: A New Comet McNaught Could Be Seen with Naked Eye http://bit.ly/ahOIsP





Mumbai: A comet is swinging through the inner solar system and is brightening rapidly even as it approaches the Sun, according to US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Comet McNaught (C/2009 R1), which has a vivid green head and a long wispy tail, can be found low in the northeastern sky before dawn gliding through the constellation Perseus. It is brightening as it approaches Earth for a 1.13 AU close encounter on June 15th and 16th, NASA said.



"By the end of the month it could be visible to the naked eye perhaps as bright as the stars of the Big Dipper...Because this is the comet's first visit to the inner solar system, predictions of future brightness are necessarily uncertain; amateur astronomers should be alert for the unexpected," NASA said in its website www.spaceweather.com.

The comet's green atmosphere is larger than the planet Jupiter, while the long willowy ion tail stretches more than a million kilometres through space. These dimensions make the comet a fine target for backyard telescopes.

Source