Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Close Encounters Of The Comet Kind

Visibility of comet 45P will depend on your proximity to bright city lights, and the light from Friday's full moon. Credit: nasa.gov

This weekend will be a busy one for astronomers and stargazers alike. A penumbral eclipse kicks off Friday night.

Beginning in early evening, the earth will pass between the sun and the moon, covering the moon with its light, outer shadow or penumbra — hence the name. The effect will be only a very slight dimming of the moon that's barely noticeable to the untrained eye.

Then on Saturday, beginning at 2:00 a.m., comet 45P will pass just 8-million miles away from earth. It may sound like a ways off, but that's almost too close for comfort, according to Wake Forest University Physics Professor Greg Cook. This comet — nearly a mile across — will be zooming by the earth at more than 51-thousand miles per hour. Cook says when it gets close enough to the sun tomorrow morning, stargazers may be rewarded looking eastward about 30 degrees above the horizon.

"You'll see sort of a fuzzy object, the center of which is an actual icy, rocky, core," says Cook.  "But there's a big gassy atmosphere around it, and a lot of that gassy atmosphere gets blown back creating a very long tail. And these things can be tens of degrees long in the sky."

Cook says visibility will depend on your proximity to bright city lights, and the light from tonight's full moon. He says it'll be tough to spot with the naked eye, so he recommends using binoculars or a telescope. But if you miss comet 45P Saturday morning, fret not. The “P” stands for periodic, and it'll return this way in about five years from now.

 

 

 

Before his arrival in the Triad, David had already established himself as a fixture in the Austin, Texas arts scene as a radio host for Classical 89.5 KMFA. During his tenure there, he produced and hosted hundreds of programs including Mind Your Music, The Basics and T.G.I.F. Thank Goodness, It's Familiar, which each won international awards in the Fine Arts Radio Competition. As a radio journalist with 88.5 WFDD, his features have been recognized by the Associated Press, Public Radio News Directors Inc., Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals, and Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas. David has written and produced national stories for NPR, KUSC and CPRN in Los Angeles and conducted interviews for Minnesota Public Radio's Weekend America.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate