Nasa shares rare close-up of comet breaking up – and you can see it in the night sky right now
NASA has chosen a striking image of Comet ATLAS C2019/Y4 as its Astronomy Picture of the Day.
If you're impressed by the snap below then you're in luck because right now you may also be able to spot the comet for yourself in the night sky.
Nasa wrote alongside the image: "Cruising through the inner solar system, Comet ATLAS C2019/Y4 has apparently fragmented.
"Multiple separate condensations within its diffuse coma are visible in this telescopic close-up from April 12, composed of frames tracking the comet's motion against trailing background stars.
"Discovered at the end of December 2019, this comet ATLAS showed a remarkably rapid increase in brightness in late March.
"Northern hemisphere comet watchers held out hope that it would become a bright naked-eye comet as it came closer to Earth in late April and May."
What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here's what you need to know, according to Nasa...
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it'll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn't vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth's atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vapourising)
The space agency continued: "But fragmenting ATLAS is slowly fading in northern skies. The breakup of comets is not uncommon though.
"This comet ATLAS is in an orbit similar to the Great Comet of 1844 (C/1844 Y1) and both may be fragments of a single larger comet."
The comet was discovered by the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey.
It was the last comet to be discovered in 2019.
How to see Comet ATLAS
The comet is currently travelling away from the Big Dipper.
It was predicted to be best spotted at the end of April or the beginning of May but the fragmentation means it's now fading.
The general advice to try and spot the comet is to look west in the sky just after sunset.
Try locating planet Venus and the bright star Capella with binoculars and you may spot the comet and its tail.
As the comet is now slowly fading, it might be better to view with a telescope.
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In other news, Nasa scientists have discovered a potentially habitable Earth-sized planet.
Recently released images of the Sun have shown it in the highest resolution ever.
And, Nasa has given out some new grants for innovative space projects.
Have you spotted this comet yet? Let us know in the comments...
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