Residents of East Tennessee will be able to see the Comet Pan-STARRS with the naked eye for the first time over the weekend.
Stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere will finally be able to see Comet Pan-STARRS with the naked eye for the first time over the weekend. The Pan-STARRS hasn't been seen by the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere until this year. This comet is known as a non-periodic one because it has a thousand-year orbit and unlike popular periodic comets such as Halley's Comet, it is too long a period to be confirmed by humans.
"The non-periodic comets come from the Oort Cloud - and there are about a trillion comets out there - but it's a whole light year away," said Noah Frere, president of the Smoky Mountain Astronomical Society. "So if you were out there looking at the sun, the sun would just look like a star."
The comet will only be visible for an hour or two after sunset for the first few days of its passing, which began March 6. However, after that, every day it is expected to get one degree higher over the horizon.
"You never know exactly what to expect because it's the first time it's coming into our solar system," Frere said. "Basically you need to find your darkest sky with a low western horizon and about a half hour after sunset and look in the direction."
Frere says that in the modern world, people have forgotten to experience the grandeur and the meaning of the night sky. However, according to him, it's important that people don't forget about the night sky, which they so often do. Thus, the occurrence of comets such as these comes as a blessing in disguise.
