Comet now visible low in sky northeast of Calgary
To get best view of galactic traveller, get away from city
A comet can now be seen in the skies over Calgary, but you’re going to have to wake up early if you want to see it at its peak.
Comet NEOWISE — informally named for the satellite that discovered it — is currently visible in the skies northeast of Calgary just before dawn.
Dr. Phil Langill, director of the University of Calgary’s Rothney Astrophysical Observatory, said he just received permission to return to the observatory full time after the COVID -19 lockdown and is hoping to gather images of the comet.
“From our vantage point here at the observatory, it means we have to look straight across the city to see that part of the sky,” said Langill.
“The light pollution is going to be a bit of an issue.”
He described it as a classic comet with a long, bright tail. It’s bright enough to be seen with the naked eye and is approaching the same brightness as Venus, which is one of the brightest objects in the night sky.
This weekend, the comet can be seen low on the horizon before dawn due northeast, to the left of Venus and to the right of the big dipper. As the week goes on, it should become visible in the evening sky after sunset in the northwest, however it could be significantly dimmer.
“It’s always going to be close to the sun,” said Langill. “So, if it’s in the morning sky, it’ll be shortly before the sun comes up, and if it’s in the evening sky, it’ll be shortly after the sun goes down.”
Langill suggested travelling north of the city for the best viewing, away from light pollution.
He said it’s best not to wait. The comet has already rounded the sun and is heading back out of the solar system.
“In a week or 10 days, the opportunity will be over,” he said.
Like the planets, comets also orbit the sun, but do so in widely elliptical orbits. If you miss NEOWISE this time, it won’t be back for roughly 6,953 years.
A comet as bright as NEOWISE can be seen in Calgary about once every decade.
Langill said comets are some of the most exciting objects to observe because you can often detect movement in the tail, which shimmers as energy from the sun causes dust from the comet to “blow” away. He hopes to capture video of NEOWISE and possibly create a time lapse video to demonstrate this.
“Any time you get a chance to see something moving in the solar system, you get a better sense of what the world is like out there,” he said.
He added that comets have always been of interest to researchers because they are among the oldest things in the solar system.
“They live in these deep recesses where it’s super cold and they don’t change with time. So if you want to find out what the solar system was like millions of years ago, you want to get your hands on some cometary material.”
Langill said there’s some talk among researchers of putting a probe on a comet, both to learn about the material it is made of, but also to hitch a ride out of our solar system without burning a lot of fuel.
“It’s a free ride, right?” he said, “If we get a lander to land on a comet, it can take your probe out to deep space.”