Space|Many are looking for a comet in the Finnish sky on Saturday evening. Jussi Dittmer, who was in Helsinki’s Laajasalo, managed to capture a picture of the comet.
Monet Finns were staring at the sky on Saturday evening, because a rare sight, a comet, was expected there. However, others were disappointed, as the comet named Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was difficult to see with the naked eye.
One of the hopefuls had watched the comet in Helsinki’s Laajasalo Jussi Dittmer. He arrived at the stations right from the early evening. He didn’t see the comet with his own eyes either, but the telephoto lens of his camera helped.
“The camera lens amplified the light so much that through it I could distinguish a small dot from the sky. Then I clicked the picture,” says Dittmer.
The tiny dot turned out to be a rare comet that many had been looking for in the sky. You can look at Dittmer’s picture at the beginning of this story. Dittmer has strengthened the contrast of the image in post-processing.
Money On Saturday night and Sunday morning, a HS reader sent pictures of celestial objects that they thought were comets.
Most of the images sent were of sunlit airplane contrails, which are easy to confuse with comets, says a spokesman for Ursan, the astronomical association Anne Liljeström.
“A comet can be distinguished in the sky by the fact that it does not move in the sky as far as the eye can see. Instead, for example, garbage cans move when you look at them long enough,” says Liljeström.
The comet was difficult to spot on Saturday evening, because according to Liljeström, it was located low and in the light sky. Cloudiness also made observation difficult. The comet would have been easier to spot if it had been in the sky directly above the viewers. Now, however, it was at an angle, where it was harder to see.
“It is very common to confuse a comet with other celestial bodies or, for example, airplanes, if you are not trained to look for them.”
Tail star has also been observed elsewhere in the world than in Finland. Several pictures of the celestial object have been published, for example, in the United States.
This photo was taken in the state of South Carolina in the United States on Saturday local time.
This photo taken on Saturday is from the state of California.
Comets are composed of ice, rock and gases. The dust is trapped in the ice, which begins to melt as it heats up near the Sun. The water evaporates and a beautiful and even long tail can be born from it, which always points away from the Sun.
On Saturday, the comet flew about 71 million kilometers from Earth.
Tail star it is possible to see, according to Liljeström, at least for the next week. Cloudiness can hinder visibility.
“However, Tuesday evening of the beginning week seems like a promising moment to see a comet. I recommend bringing binoculars if you want to see it,” says Liljeström.
Dittmer, who also photographed the comet on Saturday, plans to look at the sky again on Tuesday and hopes to see the comet again.