Recently, the website of the Department of astronomy of the University of Maryland announced that comet vitanen (46p / wirtanen) will be the nearest comet to the earth on the 16th local time. If you are lucky, you can directly observe it with the naked eye, making it the brightest comet in the night sky in 2018. Of course, if you miss the 16th comet, don't worry. You will see it again in a week or two, but its appearance will gradually change.
Comet veltanin, also known as' comet Christmas', casts a striking green glow in the night sky. It was discovered by American astronomer Carl wirtanen in 1948. At present, it takes 5.4 years to circle the sun, and the distance between it and the earth is different every time. This time, it is very close to the earth, about 11.52 million kilometers apart.
NASA said it may sound far away, but the comet is one of the 10 closest comets to earth in nearly 70 years, a small part of which can be seen by the naked eye.
If you miss the comet on the 16th, don't worry, it should be visible in a week or two, but its appearance will gradually change, said faham, PhD, Department of astronomy at the University of Maryland. He added that after comet viltanin continues to move forward, it will no longer approach the earth for hundreds or even thousands of years.
People living in low light damage areas may be able to see the comet with the naked eye, while people living in cities need to see it through telescopes, the report said.