A comet approaching the inner solar system is sporting a faint tail, seen in a new photograph. The icy wanderer, called C/2001 Q4 (NEAT), promises to be visible to the unaided eye this spring from around the world.
The picture was made with the 14-inch (35.28-centimeter) SoTIE telescope in Las Campanas, Chile, as part of an educational project in Italy.
"The sky was not completely dark, but we find it
quite interesting," said Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi of the Bellatrix
Astronomical Observatory. "And it shows
a very nice tail."
The picture was taken March 10 when the comet was low on the horizon -- roughly two fist-widths on an outstretched arm, or 20 degrees of sky in astronomers terms.
Depending on how the comet reacts to increasing doses of solar radiation, the
tail could become more pronounced over the next two months as skywatchers in
both hemispheres get opportunities to see the comet with no optical aids necessary.
Not all comets develop noticeable tails, and scientists can't say how this one
will develop.
Comet NEAT, as it is commonly called, was discovered by the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program in August 2001. It was then a 20th magnitude object on a scale in which smaller numbers represent brighter objects. Very bright stars are magnitude 1 or 2. The dimmest objects visible under very dark skies are around magnitude 6.5.
NEAT could brighten to 1st or 2nd magnitude in late April and remain that bright through mid-May, astronomers predict. It is in the Southern Hemisphere sky now, just slightly fainter than what can be picked up by the naked eye. It should show up for viewers north of the equator in early May, after it has become fairly easy to spot.
Another comet, called LINEAR, will also soon be visible from the Southern Hemisphere, and depending on how much it brightens it might be seen just before sunrise in late April and early May from the Northern Hemisphere, setting up a rare opportunity to spy two comets at once. [More about these comets]
