Once in a lifetime opportunity: Comet Catalina to light up sky on New Year's Day
THE new year will bring with it a once in a lifetime opportunity for stargazers who will get to see the dazzling Comet Catalina for the first and last time ever.
Comet Catalina will come closer to the earth than ever before
Dubbed as one of the ‘most beautiful’ comets ever discovered, it will pass through the inner Solar System over the coming weeks.
And the first chance to see it will be on New Year’s Day.
On January 1 Catalina will get within 0.4 degrees of Arcturus - one of the brightest stars in the sky - so experts expect picture perfect scenes.
The closest and last ever flyby will be on January 17.
If your up early and sky's clear be sure to check out the full moon and Comet Catalina should be visable. pic.twitter.com/AqvV59j7tX
— Stick To The Story (@stick2thestory) December 25, 2015
The comet will be visible to UK residents on January 1 and 17
The comet will be bright but it is unclear whether it will be visible to the naked eye so anyone hoping to catch a glimpse is being advised to take binoculars out or a small telescope.
On the second occasion it will be 100,000,000 kilometres away from the Northern Hemisphere.
According to astronomer Phil Plait, Catalina can look like it has two tails - one made form gas and the other dust.
And, to add to the spectacle one will shoot from the front and the other from the back.
Anyone wishing to catch a glimpse of Catalina is advised to use binoculars or a small telescope
Catalina is coming from very deep space, probably out in the Oort cloud - the vast repository of icy bodies far, far beyond the orbit of Neptune. Its orbit may have originally been millions of years lon
Mr Plait said: "Catalina is coming from very deep space, probably out in the Oort cloud - the vast repository of icy bodies far, far beyond the orbit of Neptune. Its orbit may have originally been millions of years long.
"But something gave it a kick - perhaps a star that passed a couple of light years away a million years ago, or the tides from the galaxy itself - and dropped it toward the Sun.”
He said it is now on the way out of the solar system forever.
Comet Catalina was discovered on October 31 2013 by the Catalina Sky Survey with their 0.68 meter Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope.
Comet Catalina has two tails and can be seen this month
And we have a Christmas comet as well. Comet Catalina now brightening in Northern skies. pic.twitter.com/1Ijpve0uJv
— Sun God (@Our_Lord_Sun) December 24, 2015