Observing the stars in the Solar System
Those who love looking at the night sky will be able to observe planets in our Solar System throughout January.
If we don’t have a telescope or binoculars, we can still easily observe Mars next to the Moon located high in the sky. Southeast of the night sky from January 2 to the end of the month.
Specifically, Mars during this period will be located in the part of the sky containing the constellation Taurus or in the middle of the constellation. Virgo and the star Aldebaran – the brightest red star in the constellation Taurus).
Note that to distinguish an asteroid from a star with the naked eye a simple trick is to look for The object does not sparkle in the night sky.
In addition, from January 18 to January 24, 2023, Venus and Saturn will be very close to each other, forming a bright magnetic dot moving from the West. South down to the horizon it will appear about 45 minutes after sunset and they will be closest to each other on January 22.
Also in some Northern Hemisphere areas in January clear sky, some constellations containing stars will be brighter than usual such as in the constellations Orion Taurus and Gemini.
The most notable thing this month is observing a comet named C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will fly very close to Earth and humans can observe it with the naked eye.
It was first discovered in March 2022 from a surveillance camera The Zwicky Transient Facility is operated by the US National Science Foundation. At that time, it was moving through Jupiter’s orbit.
According to NASA at the time of discovering this comet, it had a gravitational intensity (G) of about 17 3 and increased to 10 in November. In November 2022, it is estimated that it will reach magnitude 6 as it passes over Earth. Note that the lower the intensity, the brighter the object appears.
Current images of the comet show it emitting a “bright halo” from the gas and dust ice that simultaneously formed The tail is long and it will get hotter as it gets closer to the Sun.
On January 12, 2023, this comet will be 160 million km from the Sun and 42 million km from Earth on February 2 . This is considered the first naked-eye observation of modern humans because it has a cycle of about 50,000 years.
The last time a comet flew so close to Earth was during the Stone Age old. People who may have seen it are early Homo sapiens who lived in the last Ice Age and Neanderthals who went extinct 10,000 years ago.
Which area has can observe comets
From January 12 to February 2, 2023, we may have the opportunity to see C/2022 E3 in the night sky with the naked eye. However, comets are sometimes unpredictable because they can have explosions that cause them to fade as they approach the Sun.
Its layer of dust and icy gas can evaporate under the influence of heat, we can still see it with telescopes or binoculars for a few days.
Accordingly, if we observe from the Northern Hemisphere it will appear in the sky immediately. before dawn in the northwest. Especially on January 21 will be the best opportunity to see this comet.
For observers from the Southern Hemisphere, it will be easier to observe this comet in early February .
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