by The night sky of 2023 offered many jaw-dropping sights, from bright, fiery comets to extraordinary auroras, unexpected lunar meteorite impacts, newly discovered supernovae, and even a lost astronaut’s tool bag floating in space. These are some of Space.com’s most memorable sky views from this year.
New year, new comet
2023 began with a close approach to comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF). This newly discovered comet came closest to Land on February 1, passing 42 million kilometers (28 million miles) from our planet. This was the first approach of the comet in 50,000 years.
First discovered in March 2022, C/2022 E3 originated in the outer reaches of the Solar systemwithin Oort cloud. The comet’s bright green glow was easily visible to observers using binoculars or a small telescope. However, as the kite traveled through the inner solar system, its the orbit was altered so it is now on a trajectory outside the solar system, meaning this was its first and last visit near Earth. Stargazers and astrophotographers captured stunning images of the bright green comet during its visit between January and February, which you can see look here on Space.com.
New supernova captured in action
Astronomers saw a new supernova on the Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as Messier 101 or M101, which is a front spiral galaxy located 21 million Light years from the earth. A bright burst of light was observed in one of the galaxy’s arms, suggesting that a massive star had reached the end of its life and exploded in a stellar event called a supernova.
He supernovadesignated SN 2023ixf, was first detected in an image taken by experienced supernova hunter Koichi Itagaki from Yamagata, Japan, on May 19, 2023. While the supernova itself occurred 21 million years ago, the light from the starburst had been traveling through space and only recently came into view from Earth this year. SN 2023ixf represents one of the largest and brightest supernovae seen in a decade and may be observed using a small telescope.
Supergiant star on the verge of supernova
A remarkable shine of the popular star Betelgeuse was observed this year, suggesting that it could soon explode in a supernova. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star located 650 light years from Earth in the orion constellationmarking the Hunter’s left shoulder.
Earlier this year, observers noticed that the star, which usually ranks as the 10th brightest star in the night sky, was exceptionally bright, shining at more than 140% of its usual brightness and earning the rank of seventh brightest star. bright. While Betelgeuse is known for its periodic waxing and waning, this unusual activity It’s a sign that the star may be reaching the stage of life when it runs out of hydrogen and begins to fuse helium in its core before exploding in a bright explosion known as a supernova.
They capture a meteorite crashing into the moon
a meteor crashed into the moon on February 23 and a Japanese astronomer captured the bright flash of impact with his camera. The meteorite struck the night side of the moon, near the Ideler L crater, which is slightly northwest of the Pitiscus crater.
Traveling at an average speed of 30,000 mph (48,280 kph), or 8.3 miles per second (13.4 km/s), meteorite The impacts create large craters on the surface, which generate intense heat and produce a bright flash of light. Such an event is visible to sky watchers during the lunar night, when a meteor hits an area of Moon looking towards the Earth. The impact crater formed by the fall of this meteorite, which you can see a video from Space.com, it is expected to be about a dozen meters (39 feet) in diameter.
Supercharged auroras surprised sky watchers
An extraordinarily powerful geomagnetic storm broke out beautiful auroras as far south as New Mexico and Arizona in March. auroras occur when charged particles of solar wind interact with molecules in earth atmosphere. Generally, most auroras are only visible at very high latitudes because the Earth magnetic field The lines channel solar particles toward the poles. However, in some cases, solar flares called coronal mass ejections trigger auroras at lower latitudes.
On March 23, a powerful solar flare caused a severe G4 storm — rated according to the 5-grade scale used by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which does not even space weather the forecasters saw it coming. This storm illuminated the night sky in many states, giving skywatchers the opportunity to take incredible aurora photographs.
August’s rare super blue moon
August brought skywatchers a rare “super blue moon”as the second –and closest- full moon Of the month. The term “large moon“It is used to describe a full moon at perigee, or its closest point to Earth in its orbit, which makes it appear larger and brighter in the night sky. The full moon on August 30 was just 357,343 kilometers (222,043 miles) away, compared to its average distance of 384,399 kilometers (238,855 miles), making it the closest of all the super full moons this year. Additionally, it was the second full moon of the month (also known as blue Moon), earning the full nickname “super blue moon.”
This particular lunar event offered sky watchers a visual treat. While both a blue moon and a super full moon are quite common on their own, a moon that is both blue and super is a little rarer. The last event of this type occurred in December 2009, and the next one will not occur again until August 2037. You can consult beautiful photos of August’s super blue moon on Space.com.
Newly discovered comet travels near the sun
The recently discovered Nishimura Cometalso known as C/2023 P1, survived a close encounter with Sunon September 17, when it passed just 20.5 million miles (33 million kilometers) away from it.
The bright comet was caught on camera by one of the two spacecraft of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO): STEREO-A – while taking images of the sun’s outer atmosphere on September 19. The images suggest the kite has remained intact, although there may be long-term effects from the sun’s warming. The comet was recently discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura from the city of Kakegawa, Japan, on August 12.
“Ring of Fire” annular solar eclipse
An annular solar eclipse captivated viewers in North, Central and South America on October 14 with its “ring of fire” around the moon.
during a annular solar eclipse, the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun. However, the moon is at the furthest point in its orbit from Earth, so it does not completely block the sun (that’s called a total solar eclipse). Instead, the burning light of the sun surrounds the shadow of the moon, creating the so-called ring of fire.
the annular solar eclipse It began in Oregon, traveling through eight US states before passing through Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Brazil. It was visible to millions of people, giving skywatchers the opportunity to photograph this rare event. You can check out Space.com’s roundup of the best Annular Solar Eclipse of 2023 photos here.
Lost tool bag floating in space
one november spacewalk by two astronauts who were performing maintenance on the International Space Station (ISS) resulted in a lost tool bag which for now floats in space, about 258 miles (415 kilometers) above Earth. The bright white tool bag appeared in images captured by the Virtual Telescope Project on November 15.
The trajectory of floating tool bagIt is not expected to collide with the orbiting laboratory. Instead, it will remain in space for a few months before burning up safely in Earth’s atmosphere, high above the planet’s surface. This isn’t the first time spacewalkers have inadvertently lost equipment, as the bulky gloves on spacesuits can make it difficult for astronauts to keep a firm grip on their tools while working in space.
The ‘devil’s comet’ approaches Earth
The frozen volcano comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, nicknamed “Comet Diablo,” is headed toward Earth and may brighten until it is visible to the naked eye in March 2024. Discovered in 1812, Comet Diablo is known for its violent eruptions, during which a powerful explosion of ice and gas creates a brilliant glow. halo that resembles the devil’s horns. The fourth, and biggest explosion However, it occurred on November 14 and was photographed by amateur astronomer Eliot Herman, who witnessed a 100-fold increase in the comet’s brightness.
Traveling at a speed of 64,373 km/h (40,000 mph), the cryovolcanic comet, which has a heart of ice, gas and dust within an icy outer shell, is expected to reach its closest distance to Earth on June 2 of 2024, to which time It will reach 232 million kilometers (144 million miles) from our planet.
