photo credit: Michael Jäger
Stargazers, get your gear. You have a chance to see a comet in the sky this September. You won’t be able to see the small Comet Giacobini-Zinner with the naked eye, but don’t let that stop you. You’ve got this.
RELATED: NASA’s Spitzer Telescope Celebrates 15 Years in Space
On September 10th, Giacobini-Zinner (named for the two astronomers that discovered it… at different times) will be closest to Earth in its 6.4 to 6.6 year orbit. At that point it will be 36.3 million miles from Earth. It’s like you can reach out and touch it! At only 1.2 miles in diameter and at that distance, you might understand why you can’t just look up and see it. But, with binoculars it will appear as a “fuzzy blotch of light” according to space.com. But, if you’ve got a 4″ telescope you should get a clearer view of the tear drop comet shape, with the head of the comet condensed and glowing green.
RELATED: The Milky Way Is Covered in Space Grease
Your best bet to see Giacobini-Zinner is in the morning hours, after midnight. It should be visible all month long. But, in the morning hours of September 15th, it’ll pass through a striking cluster of stars in Gemini giving you a particularly pretty show. So, get out under the stars and start seeing green!
Actor, Improviser, Comic.
I like to like things and talk about them.
I like to pretend.
I like to make things.
I like to write things down.
- UNCHARTED Release Date Pushed to 2021 - January 25, 2020
- You Can Help Name NASA’s Mars 2020 Rover - January 25, 2020
- Watch the Feel-Good Magic in Trailer for SHORT CIRCUIT Series from Disney+ - January 24, 2020
