French amateur Thierry Legault took this elegant image of Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) over the well-known isle friary Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy at twilight on July 12 th. Information: Sony a7r iii, 135- mm f/1.8 lense, sixteen 1.6-second visibilities piled. Thierry Legault.
” Spectacular.” “Amazing.” “Beautiful.” “Awesome.” Those are actually merely a few of words new onlookers have actually utilized to define Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3). I concur 1,000 per-cent– this is actually one amazing comet!
NEOWISE changes coming from the sunrise to the twilight heavens today. For a while you’ll still have the capacity to watch it at each sides of the time clock, yet through July 18 th it quickly vanishes as well as comes close to the north perspective coming from sight. For the north U.S., Canada, as well as a lot of Europe the comet is actually apparent as well as circumpolar all evening long today. It arrives at optimal north declination (+48 ° )on July 20 th when it certainly never plunges listed below the perspective for areas north of latitude 42 ° N.
Comet NEOWISE mixtures right into a north lightings feature over Lake Superior observed coming from Marquette County, Michigan, beforehand July 13 th. Information: ISO 3200, 15- few seconds, f/2. Shawn Malone.
Comet NEOWISE has actually produced incredible enthusiasm as well as appropriately therefore. It is actually the 1st effortlessly apparent naked-eye comet to poise northerly heavens given that PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) in 2013 as well as just before that, McNaught (C/2006 P1) in 2006-07 While PanSTARRS met 1st size it had a much briefer naked-eye rear, while McNaught was actually mainly a Southern Hemisphere things. You need to get to right back to 1997 to Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) to discover an equivalent comet.
Comet NEOWISE, showing off both ion (best) as well as dirt rears, bridge a residence lit up through exterior lighting fixtures in Rice Lake, Minnesota, at 11 p.m. on July 12 th. Bob King.
When it happens to social admiration of comets,
It is actually all concerning the rear. The longer as well as brighter the much better. NEOWISE has actually discolored coming from size +0.5 to concerning size 2 given that very early July, its own rear has actually been actually developing constantly, coming from a brief stump at perihelion to even more than 15 ° long 2 full weeks eventually. A combo of variables are accountable for the noticeable prolonging of the rear, consisting of tapering off moonshine, the comet’s existing exposure in a dark heavens, as well as its own improving height as well as distance to Earth. Closest strategy takes place on July 23 rd far-off of 103 thousand kilometers.
At nightfall on July 14 th I might pursue the comet’s dirt rear for 10 ° along with the nude eye coming from a dark-sky website. At its own back it increases to around 3 °. A pale, extensive supporter of component is actually apparent midway up the dirt rear to the. Heaven dirt rear is actually faintly apparent in 50- mm field glasses. The reddish band is actually airglow. Bob King
Most onlookers, consisting of those brand-new to comet-watching, can easily outline the rear to 4 ° to 5 ° creatively as well as around dual that in a set of 50- mm field glasses. Along with the nude eye it resembles a feather plume or even misaligned hands suggesting the perspective. My pal Burt claimed it told him of a beam. Others compare it to E.T.’s hands, total along with beautiful fingertip, coming from the film E.T. the Extraterrestrial. Moonless website my mandible fell when I found it on July 14 th coming from a sulky. The comet controlled the north heavens along with its own 10 °- lengthy fanned rear as well as vivid coma. Whether looked at coming from the nation or even area onlookers settle on something: NEOWISE is actually positively remarkable in field glasses.
Michael Jäger tape-recorded amazing information in both rears on July 12 th coming from a mountain range site. The kinked ion rear procedures a minimum of 16 ° long. Michael Jäger.
While the telescopic sight uncovers extra constructs in the coma as well as escalates the comet’s different colors, just field glasses easily uncover the complete width of the rear. The dirt rear stretches (presently) also past the normal 5.5 °– 6.5 ° binocular field of vision, while the fainter ion rear opens up to greater than 15 °.
This time-lapse of Comet NEOWISE was actually captured on film near Anza, California, not long just before sunup on July 12 th. Dave Kodama
Due to the comet’s reduced height the ion or even fuel rear is actually tough to view creatively yet it is actually faintly apparent together with the dirt rear in field glasses as well as telescope. It is actually comprised mainly of carbon monoxide vaporized coming from cometary ice. Happened through uv illumination coming from the Sun it shines a stunning water. The ion rear socializes along with the photovoltaic wind to make the exciting knots as well as flaws observed in Michael Jäger’s rich picture.
Both rears come coming from sublimating ice on the 5-kilometer-wide comet body system which is actually concealed coming from sight inside the wrong core, where the leaving dirt is actually very most strong. On July 14 th by means of my 10- in telescope it was actually a little, vivid “sunlight bulb” ahead of the comet’s rear which sought all the globe like efficient haze. Telescopic onlookers are actually motivated to analyze the core very closely for planes– geyser-like bangs of dirt running away coming from the comet on its own– along with feasible fragmentation.
A salted rear, as well!
False-color pictures of Comet NEOWISE indicated due to the Planetary Science Institute’s Input/Output center on July 8th program (left) mild shown coming from dirt– comparable to the naked-eye sight– as well as (right) mild given off through salt atoms. The salt rear is actually as well delicate to view creatively in a telescope. Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Carl Schmidt.
Like Hale-Bopp, NEOWISE possesses a 3rd rear included salt atoms. Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Jeffrey Morgenthaler noted the comet on July 8th utilizing exclusive filtering system as well as located a slim, lengthy rear of salt atoms aiming straight away make up the Sun. The salt seems to come coming from disintegrating dirt in the internal coma.
” Atomic salt reacts to sunshine in a comparable means to cometary dirt, yet its own drive zing originates from a really specific insight of yellowish illumination– the very same different colors observed in sodium-vapor streetlamps,” Morgenthaler composes.
Even a 200- mm telephoto lense uncovers a lot information in the comet consisting of heaven ion rear as well as analogue radiations or even synchronic bands inside the dirt rear. Information: 200- mm, f/2.8, ISO 800, as well as a 62- 2nd visibility. Bob King.
Evening seeing ideas
When finding NEOWISE at twilight appeal reduced in the northwestern heavens for an unclear “celebrity” along with a brief rear looking like a shuttlecock. This image was actually taken at 10: 30 p.m. on July 12 th coming from Duluth, Minnesota. Bob King
From lots of mid-northern latitude areas you can easily begin appearing as early as 9: 45–10 p.m. reduced in the northwestern heavens. Good luck provided our team Capella as an early morning quick guide celebrity. Right Now the Big Dipper come in to support (view chart beneath). You’ll require to discover an area along with an agape sight to the northwest as well as cleared away coming from vivid area lightings during that instructions. Hunt an area in the course of the daytime so you do not need to steer about seeking one during the night.
Arrive there in between 9: 45 to 10 p.m. true time along with a set of field glasses. Any sort of are going to perform yet I definitely like the 7 ×50 s or even 10 ×50 s due to the fact that they blend a big field of vision as well as intermediate magnifying along with really good light-gathering potential. Prior to you appear for the comet be actually certain to center the field glasses on an intense celebrity or even world. That are going to create the blurry comet much easier to detect.
Comet NEOWISE settings are actually presented every 3 times for one hr after sundown July 15–23 The comet quickly improves in height today. Stellarium along with add-ons due to the writer.
Use the chart to aid you aim the field glasses in the best instructions, after that gradually “swing” the location up until you detect a little bit of factor of illumination along with a brief rear standing out of it. However provide it some opportunity if you begin early you might certainly not view the comet along with the nude eye. When the heavens acquires darker the comet certainly not just comes to be a wonderful view in field glasses yet additionally seems to the nude eye as a light, fat deposits touch of illumination.
Corrected for atmospheric termination– the dimming of things near the perspective where the setting is actually thickest– NEOWISE beams around degree 1.5– 2 presently (July 15 th). As well as although the comet is going to discolor in the happening full weeks (it is actually assumed to lose to 3rd size through July 18 th as well as to 4 due to the 25 th) it is actually additionally climbing up much higher as well as much higher at night heavens, which are going to partly counter its own dimming. Since you certainly never recognize when clouds might spin in, make an effort to capture it every crystal clear evening you can easily.
The comet’s lightweight contour by means of July 14 th presents an optimal in illumination around its own July 3rd perihelion adhered to through a slow-moving fading. Comet Observation Database.
Where to Next?
The comet strides past a lot of universes as it takes a trip southward coming from Ursa Major right into Coma Berenices in the following couple of full weeks. Emphasizes consist of a near coupling along with the Black Eye Galaxy (M64) on August 3rd adhered to through an appealing organizing along with the globular collections M53 as well as NGC 5053 on August 6th. NEOWISE is going to beam about size 6 back then, the naked-eye limitation. The Moon go back to cheer up the setting beginning July 23 rd.
Observers in the much southerly U.S. are going to need to stand by merely a bit longer to view NEOWISE– it is going to put over the northwestern perspective beginning July 16 th as well as just improve coming from certainly there. Southern Hemisphere skywatchers, that are actually certainly chewing at the little bit, are going to receive ultimately receive their NEOWISE repair around July 28–30
My more mature little girl as well as I discuss the comet on a mosquito-rich yet wonderful strike July 11 th. Bob King
Due to COVID-19 involves it is actually difficult or even tough to discuss the comet in a team setup. Our team can easily discuss it along with our family members as well as also a tiny teams of close friends along with effective social distancing. Youngsters really love experiences as well as keeping up behind time. What much better means to make an exclusive moment, as well as you could merely encourage your little one to create a lifetime hookup to the celebrities.
I want you lots of pleased evenings using this wanderer coming from the Oort Cloud. Like my pal Patricia mentioned: “What is actually a little bit of much less rest when you possess a comet checking out Earth?”
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
The European Space Agency is fast-tracking a new mission called Ramses, which will fly to near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis and join the space rock in 2029 when it comes very close to our planet — closer even than the region where geosynchronous satellites sit.
Ramses is short for Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety and, as its name suggests, is the next phase in humanity’s efforts to learn more about near-Earth asteroids (NEOs) and how we might deflect them should one ever be discovered on a collision course with planet Earth.
In order to launch in time to rendezvous with Apophis in February 2029, scientists at the European Space Agency have been given permission to start planning Ramses even before the multinational space agency officially adopts the mission. The sanctioning and appropriation of funding for the Ramses mission will hopefully take place at ESA’s Ministerial Council meeting (involving representatives from each of ESA’s member states) in November of 2025. To arrive at Apophis in February 2029, launch would have to take place in April 2028, the agency says.
This is a big deal because large asteroids don’t come this close to Earth very often. It is thus scientifically precious that, on April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass within 19,794 miles (31,860 kilometers) of Earth. For comparison, geosynchronous orbit is 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above Earth’s surface. Such close fly-bys by asteroids hundreds of meters across (Apophis is about 1,230 feet, or 375 meters, across) only occur on average once every 5,000 to 10,000 years. Miss this one, and we’ve got a long time to wait for the next.
When Apophis was discovered in 2004, it was for a short time the most dangerous asteroid known, being classified as having the potential to impact with Earth possibly in 2029, 2036, or 2068. Should an asteroid of its size strike Earth, it could gouge out a crater several kilometers across and devastate a country with shock waves, flash heating and earth tremors. If it crashed down in the ocean, it could send a towering tsunami to devastate coastlines in multiple countries.
Over time, as our knowledge of Apophis’ orbit became more refined, however, the risk of impact greatly went down. Radar observations of the asteroid in March of 2021 reduced the uncertainty in Apophis’ orbit from hundreds of kilometers to just a few kilometers, finally removing any lingering worries about an impact — at least for the next 100 years. (Beyond 100 years, asteroid orbits can become too unpredictable to plot with any accuracy, but there’s currently no suggestion that an impact will occur after 100 years.) So, Earth is expected to be perfectly safe in 2029 when Apophis comes through. Still, scientists want to see how Apophis responds by coming so close to Earth and entering our planet’s gravitational field.
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“There is still so much we have yet to learn about asteroids but, until now, we have had to travel deep into the solar system to study them and perform experiments ourselves to interact with their surface,” said Patrick Michel, who is the Director of Research at CNRS at Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in Nice, France, in a statement. “Nature is bringing one to us and conducting the experiment itself. All we need to do is watch as Apophis is stretched and squeezed by strong tidal forces that may trigger landslides and other disturbances and reveal new material from beneath the surface.”
The Goldstone radar’s imagery of asteroid 99942 Apophis as it made its closest approach to Earth, in March 2021. (Image credit: NASA/JPL–Caltech/NSF/AUI/GBO)
By arriving at Apophis before the asteroid’s close encounter with Earth, and sticking with it throughout the flyby and beyond, Ramses will be in prime position to conduct before-and-after surveys to see how Apophis reacts to Earth. By looking for disturbances Earth’s gravitational tidal forces trigger on the asteroid’s surface, Ramses will be able to learn about Apophis’ internal structure, density, porosity and composition, all of which are characteristics that we would need to first understand before considering how best to deflect a similar asteroid were one ever found to be on a collision course with our world.
Besides assisting in protecting Earth, learning about Apophis will give scientists further insights into how similar asteroids formed in the early solar system, and, in the process, how planets (including Earth) formed out of the same material.
One way we already know Earth will affect Apophis is by changing its orbit. Currently, Apophis is categorized as an Aten-type asteroid, which is what we call the class of near-Earth objects that have a shorter orbit around the sun than Earth does. Apophis currently gets as far as 0.92 astronomical units (137.6 million km, or 85.5 million miles) from the sun. However, our planet will give Apophis a gravitational nudge that will enlarge its orbit to 1.1 astronomical units (164.6 million km, or 102 million miles), such that its orbital period becomes longer than Earth’s.
It will then be classed as an Apollo-type asteroid.
Ramses won’t be alone in tracking Apophis. NASA has repurposed their OSIRIS-REx mission, which returned a sample from another near-Earth asteroid, 101955 Bennu, in 2023. However, the spacecraft, renamed OSIRIS-APEX (Apophis Explorer), won’t arrive at the asteroid until April 23, 2029, ten days after the close encounter with Earth. OSIRIS-APEX will initially perform a flyby of Apophis at a distance of about 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from the object, then return in June that year to settle into orbit around Apophis for an 18-month mission.
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Furthermore, the European Space Agency still plans on launching its Hera spacecraft in October 2024 to follow-up on the DART mission to the double asteroid Didymos and Dimorphos. DART impacted the latter in a test of kinetic impactor capabilities for potentially changing a hazardous asteroid’s orbit around our planet. Hera will survey the binary asteroid system and observe the crater made by DART’s sacrifice to gain a better understanding of Dimorphos’ structure and composition post-impact, so that we can place the results in context.
The more near-Earth asteroids like Dimorphos and Apophis that we study, the greater that context becomes. Perhaps, one day, the understanding that we have gained from these missions will indeed save our planet.
