The night skies of 2023 offer many stunning sights, from bright, fiery comets to extraordinary auroras, unexpected meteor moon impacts, newly discovered supernovae, and even a lost astronaut kit floating in space. Here are some of the most memorable sky-watching spots from Space.com this year.
New year, new comet
2023 is about to kick off Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF).This newly discovered comet is closest to Earth Earth On February 1, it passed within 28 million miles (42 million kilometers) of Earth. This is the first time in 50,000 years that a comet has come close.
C/2022 E3 was first discovered in March 2022 and originated from solar system,exist Ultra Cloud. The comet’s bright green glow is easily visible to observers using binoculars or a small telescope.However, as comet Traveling through the inner solar system, its Orbit is changed As such, it is now on its way out of the solar system, meaning this is its first and last visit to Earth.Stargazers and astrophotographers captured stunning images of the bright green comet during its January-February visit, and you can look here on Space.com.
A new supernova is in action
Astronomers discovered a new supernova In the Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as Messier 101 or M101, it is a frontal spiral galaxy Located at 21 million light years From the earth. A bright burst observed in one arm of the Milky Way indicates that a massive star has reached the end of its life and exploded in a stellar event called a supernova.
this Supernova, designated SN 2023ixf, was first discovered in images taken on May 19, 2023, by experienced supernova hunter Koichi Itagaki from Yamagata, Japan.Although the supernova itself occurred 21 million years ago, the light from the stellar explosion continues to pass through space This year has just entered our field of vision from the earth. SN 2023ixf represents one of the largest and brightest supernovae of the decade and could Observed Use a small telescope.
Supergiant on the verge of supernova
The unmistakable glow of a pop star Betelgeuse observed this year, suggesting that soon explode in a supernova.Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star located 650 light-years away from Earth. Orionmarking the hunter’s left shoulder.
Earlier this year, observers noticed that the star – usually the 10th brightest star in the night sky – was unusually bright, exceeding 140% of its usual brightness and earning a ranking of the seventh brightest star.While Betelgeuse is known for its periodic brightening and dimming, this exception activities Is the symbol of the star May have reached the stage of life When it runs out of hydrogen and begins to fuse helium in its core, it explodes in a bright explosion called a supernova.
Meteorite hits the moon
a meteorite crash into the moon On February 23, a Japanese astronomer captured the impact’s bright flash on camera. The meteorite struck the dark side of the moon, near the Ideler L crater, northwest of Pitiskus Crater.
Traveling at an average speed of 30,000 mph (48,280 km/h) or 8.3 miles per second (13.4 km/s), meteor The impact creates a huge surface crater, generates intense heat and creates a bright flash. This event can be seen by astronomical observers during lunar nights when meteors strike an area. moon Facing the Earth.The impact crater created by this meteor impact – you can view it a video The estimated diameter on Space.com is about a dozen meters (39 feet).
Extremely powerful aurora surprises skywatchers
Triggering an unusually powerful geomagnetic storm beautiful aurora March south to New Mexico and Arizona. aurora When charged particles come from solar wind interact with molecules Earth’s atmosphere.Generally speaking, most aurora can only be seen at very high latitudes because of the Earth’s magnetic field Lines direct solar particles toward the poles.However, in some cases, solar outbursts are called coronal mass ejection Auroras are triggered at low latitudes.
On March 23, a powerful solar eruption caused severe G4 storm — Classified according to the Level 5 criteria used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — not even space weather Forecasters saw this coming.This storm illuminates night sky Spanning many states, it offers sky watchers the opportunity to take incredible photos of the aurora.
August’s rare super blue moon
August brings a rare “super blue moon“As the second – and closest – full moon of the current month. the term”supermoon“” is used to describe the full moon at perigee, or the point in its orbit closest to the Earth, which makes it appear larger and brighter in the night sky. The full moon on August 30 will be only 222,043 miles (357,343 kilometers) away compared to the average distance of 238,855 miles (384,399 kilometers), making it the closest of all supermoons this year. Additionally, this is the second full moon of the month (also known as the full moon) blue moon), earning the full name “Super Blue Moon.”
This special lunar event provided a feast for the eyes of skywatchers. While blue moons and supermoons are both fairly common on their own, moons that are both blue and supermoon are even rarer. The last such event occurred in December 2009, and the next one will not happen again until August 2037.You can view Beautiful photo August Super Blue Moon on Space.com.
Newly discovered comet approaches sun
recently discovered Comet Nishimuraalso known as C/2023 P1, in conjunction with sunIt was only 20.5 million miles (33 million kilometers) away when it passed on September 17.
That bright comet is caught on camera One of the two Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft— Stereo-A –On September 19, it captured images of the sun’s outer atmosphere.These images show comet Despite the possible long-term effects of being heated by the sun, it remains intact. The comet was recently discovered on August 12 by amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura of Kakegawa City, Japan.
“Ring of Fire” Solar Eclipse
annular solar eclipse Amaze the audienceOn October 14, a “ring of fire” appeared around the moon in North, Central and South America.
period annular solar eclipse , the moon passes directly between the earth and the sun. However, the Moon is at the farthest point in its orbit from the Earth, so it does not completely block the Sun (this is called a total solar eclipse). Instead, the sun’s fire surrounds the moon’s shadow, creating what’s known as a ring of fire.
ring eclipse Starting in Oregon, it travels through eight U.S. states before heading to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Brazil. It can be seen by millions of people, providing skywatchers with the opportunity to photograph this rare event.You can check out Space.com’s top picks 2023 annular solar eclipsephoto here .
Lost kit floating in space
November spacewalk Maintained by two astronauts international space station (International Space Station) causes lost tool kitIt is currently floating in space, about 258 miles (415 kilometers) from Earth. The bright white kit appeared in footage captured by the Virtual Telescope Project on November 15.
traces of Floatation tool bagWhen viewed through binoculars or telescopes, it appears as a sharp point of light and is not expected to collide with the orbiting laboratory. Instead, it will remain in space for several months before burning up safely in the Earth’s atmosphere high above the Earth’s surface. This isn’t the first time spacewalkers have inadvertently lost equipment, as bulky spacesuit gloves can make it difficult for astronauts to hold on to tools while working in space.
‘Devil’s Comet’ approaches Earth
icy volcano Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks The comet nicknamed the “Devil’s Comet” is heading toward Earth and may become bright enough to be visible to the naked eye by March 2024. Discovered in 1812, this devil’s comet is famous for its violent eruptions, during which powerful explosions of ice and gas create glowing lights. A halo similar to devil horns.the fourth, and biggest outbreak However, this happened on November 14, and was photographed by amateur astronomer Elliott Herman, who witnessed the comet increase in brightness by a factor of 100.
The cryovolcanic comet, traveling at 40,000 mph (64,373 km/h) with a core of ice, gas and dust within its icy shell, is expected to reach its closest approach to Earth on June 2, 2024.WhichtimeIt will come within 144 million miles (232 million kilometers) of our planet.
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Image Source : www.space.com