“Atlas” Comet of the Century has arrived and will be visible to the naked eye. When and where to see it

It’s called simply 2023 ATLAS and it could become the comet of the century, even brighter than NEOWISE in 2020 or even the famous Hale-Bopp in 1997.

It currently shines in the southern hemisphere with A measuring to 2.5. The size of a celestial body, in simple words, is nothing more than its brightness. It is measured by a number. The lower it is, the brighter the celestial body is (for example, a full moon has a magnitude of about -12). In this case, to see the comet with the naked eye, its size must be determined At most 4.

In October (period 10-15) The comet will begin to appear Visible to the naked eye also In Italy. It can be found for a few hours after sunset slightly above the horizon (now it can hardly be seen in the first light of dawn).
Astronomers indicate that the brightness of the comet may increase significantly after it passes near the sun Its maximum visibility will be on October 12 When the 2023 Atlas is at its closest point to Earth, that is, at perigee.
However, comets are not always predictable: in fact, it is not certain that a close pass by the Sun (more or less at the same orbital distance as Mercury) will occur in complete calm. In fact, many comets are completely “burned up” by the Sun, and disintegrate.