The city’s western area is ‘ideal’ to see the ‘comet of the century’

It is called C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS and is not a television satellite. for heroes There’s not even a WiFii dongle. Simply put, this is the comet of the century. Something space researchers have been waiting for since it was first seen at the Purple Mountain Observatory in China early last year. But why are there so many expectations? This is not the end of the world, nor is it the beginning of an invasion by (unsuspecting) creatures from other planets. It will be so bright that you can see it just by looking at the sky.

It has already been spotted in the Canary Islands, where it was seen last September. Currently, “it is in conjunction with the Sun, but from the 12th it will separate and we will be able to see it around sunset,” he told Ceuta Televisión. Josep Maria TrigoResearcher at the Institute of Space Sciences (St.CSIC/IEEC).

The Canary Islands “were the first phase of the approach to the Sun.” and it will be “a good time, starting from sunset and looking west” when we can see it. First “very close to the Sun, to the west, and then separated” from the solar star. But what exactly are we talking about?

This is a comet with a diameter of three to five kilometers, which, if we take the Earth as a basis, moves at a considerable speed of 80 kilometers per second. The most amazing thing about this is its origin: it was born along with the Universe. Wheat: “”originates from the so-called Oort Cloud, from the very edges of the solar system, which contained millions of icy bodies after gravitational scattering by the giant planets.” To give us, as they say, an idea: its possible origin is equivalent to about 100,000 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

It will orbit the Earth for several days. Trigo doesn’t know Ceuta, but his curiosity makes him ask us what the sunset is like in the west of the city. We sent him a photo of that moment: Benitez in the foreground and Turtle Mountain in the background. After viewing the photo, the reaction is automatic. “This place is perfect to see it,” he agrees. “It’s better with binoculars, but you can see it perfectly with the naked eye.”