They’re calling it the “comet of the century.” Which is either a dramatic overstatement; or perhaps an understatement, given that it’s the first time it will be in our celestial neighborhood in 80,000 years.
“Let’s call it Comet Atlas,” said astronomy expert Dr. Irwin Horowitz. “This is the first time it’s returned to the inner solar system since the time when the Neanderthals or Cro-Magnon man were wandering the surface of the earth.”
Horowitz visited with Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about when and how to glimpse Comet Atlas, plus a few more stargazing tips.
Read the full transcript below:
GEORGE PRENTICE: It's Morning Edition. Good morning, I'm George Prentice. Clear skies, cool autumn nights. And an ever-changing canvas of the universe. Stargazing in October. It's got to be an all-time high. One of our favorite visitors is here to spend a few minutes with us this morning, Dr. Irwin Horowitz, a mathematics professor at CWI and past president of the Boise Astronomical Society. Dr, Horowitz, welcome back to the broadcast.
DR. IRWIN HOROWITZ: Good morning, George.
PRENTICE: I have been hearing or reading about the comet, and I want to get this right … it’s Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas. And the headlines say it's the comet of the century. Could you tell us a little bit about that?
HOROWITZ: Well, first of all, it's let's just call it Comet Atlas, okay? Because trying to pronounce the name of the other discoverer is kind of difficult. But it is a comet on a very long period orbit, like 80,000 years. So, this is the first time it's returned to the inner solar system since, I guess, the time when the Neanderthals or Cro-Magnon man were, were wandering on the surface of the Earth, but it makes a very close flyby of the sun. In fact, it will have made its closest approach just a few weeks ago, in late September. And then it's on its outbound trajectory right now. It had been an object visible in the early morning sky prior to this week, and in the upcoming weeks, it will become more visible in the evening sky, starting with this weekend on the 11th and 12th. If you have a nice clear horizon on the western direction right after sunset, you may start to see some evidence of the comet.
PRENTICE: Wow, and you said 80,000 years? It's trip around the sun… right? That's amazing. Okay, so later this week, we have a treat here. By the way, a couple of weeks ago, here's another funny headline: “A Second Moon has Officially Entered Earth's Orbit…. Sort of.” Was that anything?
HOROWITZ: Well, well, this happens reasonably regularly. It's not an everyday occurrence, but it happens maybe a couple every couple of years where a modest sized space rock, in this case, the object is roughly the size of a school bus about 30 35ft in size, happens to wander in the vicinity of the Earth and will temporarily orbit the Earth and before it returns to orbiting back in the sun.
PRENTICE: And is that because it's captured by our gravitational pull for a short while?
HOROWITZ: For a short while... yes. It enters a region of space where the Earth's gravity manages to hold on to it, but it has too much energy for that to be a permanent feature. And so, it eventually flies away again.
PRENTICE: Indeed, we are on the radio. But Dr. Horowitz, I have to ask about a shirt you're wearing. And on it, it says, “Stars That Go Boom.” Talk to me about that. What is that?
HOROWITZ: Okay, well, well, first of all, this was the theme of the Idaho Star party this past summer. Yeah. And at which I gave a talk about a particular star that was predicted to undergo a nova eruption sometime between May and September. As it happens, it did not yet blow up. It will at some point, but the prediction did not come to pass.
PRENTICE: We don't know when it might happen then?
HOROWITZ: Not specifically, but we expect it to happen at least sometime in the next couple of years. This was a this is a star that erupts roughly every 80 years or so, and the last time it erupted was in 1946. So, 80 years later would be 2026. But there were some signals from that star system indicating it might erupt a few years earlier. And so astronomers had made a prediction that it would erupt sometime between May and September, but it did not do so. And I will note that when it does erupt, it will…the star itself will become roughly as bright as the North Star. So, if you're familiar with the North Star, you get a sense of how bright this object will be. You just have to know roughly where to look when it does go off.
PRENTICE: I'd be remiss if I didn't ask a little bit about Northern Lights. People go crazy when they see Northern Lights, and even in Boise a couple of times this year, including this month.
HOROWITZ: So, the Northern Lights are driven primarily by activity on the sun. And right now, our sun is ramping up to its high period of activity sometime early next year. And so there is an increase in the amount of material. The sun is blasting out into space. Every so often, those blasts happen to be directed towards the Earth, and our planet's magnetic field captures those particles, channels them into both the north and south polar regions, and when they smash into the upper atmosphere, they give rise to these colorful displays.
PRENTICE: Okay, but it is gorgeous. And people take photos all the time, and Facebook and TikTok are filled with photos from Idahoans. Speaking of which, I know that for those of us who are truly amateurs, when we like to stargaze, some of us if we're lucky, we can go to the dark sky reserve, of course. But here in our area, in the Treasure Valley in Boise, you know, light pollution is always kind of a challenge. May I ask where the Boise Astronomical Society likes to go for some stargazing?
HOROWITZ: There are a variety of locations that we use as we're starting to head into the cooler months. Most of us don't like to get up into the mountains where it's even chillier. Yeah, so the most commonly used location is south of Kuna at Dedication Point, just off of Swan Falls Road. So about 15 miles south of Kuna. There's a little pullout area that we use, and we set up our telescopes and spend an evening down there.
PRENTICE: Great tip. Oh, I'd also be remiss if I didn't ask about the moon. Of course, we do love a full moon in October. A hunter's moon.
HOROWITZ: I believe that is what it's called. Yes.
PRENTICE: October 17th. There's always something. And I know that the holidays are coming up…, but for any parent out there: my first telescope when I was a kid, and it was pretty modest. It was a kids telescope, but it was a life changer for me. And to other people who love the planets and stars… getting your first telescope, it's quite wonderful. Which is why we love having Dr. Irwin Horowitz join us here. Dr. Horowitz, for this morning and for all of our conversations… and I can't wait for the next one. Thank you so very much.
HOROWITZ: It's always a pleasure, George. Thank you for having me.
Find reporter George Prentice @georgepren
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