Comet Atlas to be Visible in May

[CF74]

Comet ATLAS is Half as Wide as the Sun
MARCH 24, 2020 / DR.TONY PHILLIPS

March 24, 2020: No one knows how big the icy core of Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) might be–possibly no wider than a few kilometers. One thing’s for sure, though, the comet’s atmosphere is huge. New images from amateur astronomers around the world show that ATLAS’s gaseous envelope has ballooned in diameter to ~720,000 km–about half as wide as the sun.

On the scale of big things in the solar system, Comet ATLAS falls somewhere between the sun (1,392,000 km diameter) and Jupiter (139,820 km). It’s not unusual for comets to grow so large. While their icy solid cores are typically mere kilometers in diameter, they can spew prodigious amounts of gas and dust into space, filling enormous volumes. In the fall of 2007, Comet 17P/Holmes partially exploded and, for a while, had an atmosphere even larger than the sun. The Great Comet of 1811 also had a sun-sized coma. Whether Comet ATLAS will eventually rival those behemoths of the past remains to be seen.

Right now, Comet ATLAS is certainly the biggest green thing in the Solar System. Its verdant hue comes from diatomic carbon, C2, a molecule commonly found in comets. Gaseous C2 emits a beautiful green glow in the near-vacuum of space.

Currently, Comet ATLAS is shining like an 8th magnitude star–invisible to the unaided eye but an easy target for backyard telescopes. The comet is brightening rapidly as it comes closer to Earth and the sun. By late May it could rival Venus in the evening twilight sky. Stay tuned!

https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2020/03/24/c2019y4-is-half-as-wide-as-the-sun/

 

[CF74]

Interactive Map:
https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=c/2019 Y4;old=0;orb=1;cov=0;log=0;cad=0#orb

 

[The Fonz]

wow that is huge .... how far from earth?

 

[CF74]

wow that is huge .... how far from earth?

Couple blocks around the moon...

 

[The Fonz]

Couple blocks around the moon...

third ice from the sun lol

 

[Runwildboys]

As I mentioned in the other thread, only the atmosphere is half the size of the sun. The object itself is estimated to be only a few miles across.

The person to ask would be @YosemiteSam ...our resident space case....err, space expert.

 

[joseephuss]

https://www.space.com/comet-atlas-falling-apart-photos.html

Comet Atlas is falling apart, new photos confirm

By Mike Wall 6 hours ago

We'll have to keep waiting for the next great comet.

It's official: Comet Atlas has broken apart.

Just a month ago, it looked like the icy wanderer, officially known as C/2019 Y4 Atlas, might put on a dazzling sky show around the time of its closest approach to the sun, or perihelion, which occurs on May 31.

But relatively lackluster behavior soon dimmed such hopes. And optimism surrounding the comet is now pretty much extinguished, for it's no longer in one piece.

Comet Atlas "has shattered both its and our hearts," astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, the founder and director of the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy, said in an emailed statement on Sunday (April 12). "Its nucleus disintegrated, and last night I could see three, possibly four main fragments."

 

[YosemiteSam]

My buddy took a picture of Atlas and sent it to me a day or two ago.

Here it is.

This was taken on March 24th with a Celestron C8 (a Schmidt Cassegrain telescope) and Canon Rebel T5i DSLR.

About an hour and half total exposure.

Here is a link to the HIGH RES version

 

[Runwildboys]

My buddy took a picture of Atlas and sent it to me a day or two ago.

Here it is.

This was taken on March 24th with a Celestron C8 (a Schmidt Cassegrain telescope) and Canon Rebel T5i DSLR.

About an hour and half total exposure.

Here is a link to the HIGH RES version

Thanks! Now I don't have to go out and buy a telescope!

 

[CF74]

As I mentioned in the other thread, only the atmosphere is half the size of the sun. The object itself is estimated to be only a few miles across.

The person to ask would be @YosemiteSam ...our resident space case....err, space expert.

Correct. The first sentence in the article explains that. It’s funny how multiple articles like to sensationalize the, “Size” in their titles..

 

[YosemiteSam]

lol at saying the comet is half the size of the Sun!

They are likely referring to the comet's coma, not the comet itself.

Here is a picture of it showing it breaking up. (the glow around the fragments is the comet's coma, click the comet coma link above for an explanation of what a coma is)

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

That's not a comet. That's Captain Marvel bringing Ironman back to Earth.

 

[YosemiteSam]

That's not a comet. That's Captain Marvel bringing Ironman back to Earth.

Still rollin' with the conspiracy theories I see.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Still rollin' with the conspiracy theories I see.

Some has to be the voice of reason and tell the truth on this site. Why not me? Yall want to pretend that's a comet. That's on yall.

 

[nobody]

It's disappointing that it won't give us a naked eye show because it broke apart.

But @YosemiteSam came through with some great images!

 

[timb2]

I wonder if Marshall Applewhite is on the comet coming back to Earth? Maybe he needs new Nikes.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I wonder if Marshall Applewhite is on the comet coming back to Earth? Maybe he needs new Nikes.

Their website is still up and I heard that previous members who departed the group before the 97' incident still answer questions via email.

You should go ask them!

http://www.heavensgate.com/

 

[timb2]

Their website is still up and I heard that previous members who departed the group before the 97' incident still answer questions via email.

You should go ask them!

http://www.heavensgate.com/

That's ok I don't want know.

 

[CF74]

That's ok I don't want know.

Are ya skeerd

 

[timb2]

OH I CAN'T WAIT TO GO OUTSIDE AND SEE THE COMET!!!!Reminds me of this movie.