Twin comets fly closest to Earth within 250 years

The two comets that fly past Earth today are the comets closest to us within 250 years.

Illustration of the position of 2 comets across the Earth (mid-circle point) today.(Photo: NASA)

At 3.5 million kilometers from Earth, the comet P / 2016 BA14 will be the third comet in history to come close to Earth. 252P / LINEAR , the larger comet has been exposed at a point 5.2 million km from Earth and can be observed with the naked eye at night.

Although closer to Earth, the distance from P / 2016 BA14 to our planet is still 9 times greater than the distance between Earth and Moon. Therefore, the two comets are unable to collide with the Earth . In order to avoid causing concern to the public, the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) has repeatedly emphasized the safety of comets in the report, according to Science Alert. For astronomers, this is a great opportunity to witness a very interesting event.

" Comet P / 2016 BA14 is not a threat, on the contrary, this is a great opportunity for research scientists to take further steps in comet research ," Paul Chodas, Central Director NASA's Center for Near-Earth Objects, said.

These two comets are extremely special and scientists call them comets twin because rarely comets sweep over the Earth on the same day.

" When comets come from far away, it brings excitement to scientists as well as the opportunity for us to learn more about them, " said Michael Kelley, an astronomer at the University of Maryland, USA. to speak.

Photo of comet 252P / LINEAR on March 16.(Photo: Science Alert)

The 252P / LINEAR comet was first discovered in 2000 and has been tracked ever since. But the P / 2016 BA14 comet is different, the first time it was discovered in January this year as it rushed towards Earth. Astronomers worry about P / 2016 BA14 is a dangerous asteroid.

After the study, they discovered P / 2016 BA14 with tail. It is not a solid block consisting of rocks or metals like asteroids, but it is a mixture of dust and ice that binds together into a mass, ie meteor.

The trajectories of the two comets are different, but they have many similarities so that astronomers guess between them there is a link. According to one hypothesis, the comet P / 2016 BA14 is a debris from a larger comet. The most interesting thing about comet 252P / LINEAR is that it is 100 times brighter than expected and at a distance close enough to be observed with the naked eye.

Although this comet does not approach the Earth like the comet P / 2016 BA14, it still glides through our planet at a predicted distance of about 5.2 million km, becoming the fifth-most comet to be recorded in history. .

The comet 252P / LINEAR creates a beautiful blue light streak due to the release of two atomic carbon (C2), a green glowing gas due to ionized molecules.

To observe comet 252P / LINEAR, followers must stand in the Southern hemisphere as it glides through the Earth. If 252P / LINEAR comet continued to glow a few weeks later, people in both hemispheres would have a chance to admire it. In addition, a massive meteor shower is likely to take place on March 28 due to dust in the orbit of comets.

Comet is an astronomical object that flies in space, it is almost an asteroid, but is not composed of rocks but mostly from ice. The reason they are called comets is because they often have a strange shape, a pointed, big tail like a broom sweeping a house. Scientists have described it as " a dirty snowball " because it contains carbonic, methane, icy water mixed with dust and minerals.