Hunting comets and mysterious stellar objects in the sky can become one of the most extraordinary activities that anyone with curiosity can do. You just have to look for the days with the right conditions and look towards the sky to be dazzled by the cosmic activity. During the next few days, the sky will give us the opportunity to admire comet C/2017 K2 that will touch its closest point to Earth, learn how to locate it in the vault.
When and how to see comet C/2017 K2
C/2017 K2 is relatively large, initially calculations indicated that it measured between 30 and 160 kilometers in diameter, however, Hubble later stipulated that its core should measure about 18 kilometers. This is much less than the first estimates but it is still a great comet to observe since its coma is much larger than this. That of the comet measures about 130 thousand kilometers, that is 10 times larger than our planet Earth, so it is sure to give us a nighttime spectacle.
At its closest point to Earth, which will be on July 14, 2022, the comet will reach a luminosity magnitude of 7 or 8, which is too faint to be captured with the naked eye, so it can only be observed with telescopes, even with small telescopes and, if the conditions are right, binoculars.
To locate the comet in the celestial vault you only have to look for the constellation of Scorpio on the ecliptic (line marked in red) which stands out for its bright star Antares. You should then raise the target a little to the north to meet the Serpens constellation, as indicated in the image above. There you can locate comet K2, to point it with the telescope.
Although the best day to admire the comet is July 14, during summer nights you can continue observing the comet in the northern hemisphere until September. While in the southern hemisphere, the best date to capture it in the sky is from the month of September.
If you do not have any observation instruments, there is always the possibility of watching the passage of objects through the cosmos using special transmissions. In the box below you can follow the passage of comet C/2017 K2 live without missing any details and admire the wonders that space nature offers us.
The most distant active comet
Astronomers are constantly searching for objects in the sky and dozens of asteroids and comets roaming the Solar System are discovered daily. C/2017 K2 was first observed in 2017, when astronomers discovered it through the Pan-STARRS survey instrument located in Hawaii.
At that time, they reported that it was the most distant active comet that had been detected up to that date and it was certainly very far from our Earth, between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus. To be exact, about 2,400 million kilometers from the Sun. However, the mischievous object, like all its kind, has not remained still during all this time and is now located within the inner Solar System.
*Credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble
One of the strangest qualities of the object is that since it was discovered it was already active, which is a bit strange since comets are commonly activated when they are close to the Sun due to their immense heat. At the time of its discovery, the comet was photographed by the Space Telescope and can be seen as a giant glowing snowball while it was still outside the asteroid belt.
Thanks to this photograph, it was determined that C/2017 K2 had a huge nucleus and also a gigantic cometary atmosphere or coma. Commas are the clouds of dust and gas that surround comet nuclei and make them visible due to the refraction of light. In other words, cometary atmospheres are the reason why we can see these types of objects from very far away and they also give us the best shots.
If you are a passionate cosmonaut and want to know the astronomical events that the Universe has in store for us month by month, we have prepared the one for 2022, where you can consult dates and all kinds of information necessary to enjoy cosmic events throughout the year.