Stargazers in the entire Northern Hemisphere may soon be getting an unexpected addition to the rather dull fall sky: a comet, specifically, Comet Hartley, a short period comet first discovered in 1986.
Comets have famously been compared to giant, dirty snowballs floating around in the blackness of space. It is possible that trillions of comets populate the cosmos, originating in the Kupier Belt and Oort Cloud. From time to time, whether it be from a collision or hitting another body, a comet will come out of its stable, distant orbit and come careening into the neighborhood of the inner planets, where near passes with planets may shorten its orbit further.
This is probably what happened with Comet Hartley considering its recent discovery and short orbital period of just under 6.5 years.
The comet is currently invisible to the naked eye in Pegasus but, by the time it hits Cassiopeia early next month, forecasters expect it to brighten to magnitude +5.5, which is on the edge of naked eye visibility. As October continues, optimistic forecasts put it at around magnitude +4 when it hits Auriga late in the month. Unfortunately, comets' brightness are difficult to predict. Some comets blow up while other fizzle.
To see the comet, try and get out of the city lights (like all of them in Cleveland) and out to the suburbs or, even better to the country. If the comet does indeed brighten to magnitude +4, it will be an easy naked eye sight under country skies.
The next month and a half could be very interesting!
For a map of Comet Hartley, go here
For more astro news:
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