February is here and it’s bringing a carnival in the sky! Astronomy parties, which will take place every night of the shortest month of the year, will welcome amateur astronomy enthusiasts from all over Brazil!
The moon’s biggest attraction will be the anticipated transit of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which will catch the attention of many Brazilians in the coming days. It is a comet with a long orbital period (estimated at around 50,000 years) discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) instrument in the first quarter of last year, reaching the perihelion point of its orbit on January 12, 2023. It is 166 million kilometers from the Sun.
However, the main events related to the C/2022 E3 transition are expected to occur in the first half of February. Today, the first day of the moon will approach Earth at the lowest possible distance, reaching only about 42 million kilometers. From the perspective of terrestrial observers, the comet will show a faint, slightly greenish glow and pass near the star Capella, the planet Mars, and the star Aldebaran in the constellation of Camelopardalis.
The comet will have a maximum luminosity (magnitude 6) that is just at the limit of brightness visible to the naked eye. Therefore, for better observation efficiency, it is recommended to search in dark areas and away from big city centers with the help of binoculars or a small telescope. It is estimated that the comet, whose light intensity will gradually decrease throughout the day, can be seen in the Brazilian skies until February 10-15.
Celestial map apps like SkyMap, Celeste Chart, and Stellarium are great allies for searching for comets and other celestial phenomena!
Calendar of the main astronomical events for the month February 2023
02/01: Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) closest approach to Earth
02/04: moon in apogee
02/05: full moon
02/13: The Month Is In The Last Quarter
02/20: New month
02/22: Conjunction of Moon and Jupiter
02/27: Conjunctions of Moon and Mars
02/28: Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter
Clear skies and good observations!
Source: Tec Mundo
I’m Blaine Morgan, an experienced journalist and writer with over 8 years of experience in the tech industry. My expertise lies in writing about technology news and trends, covering everything from cutting-edge gadgets to emerging software developments. I’ve written for several leading publications including Gadget Onus where I am an author.
