Monday, February 23, 2009

Green Comet to Pass Earth

Starting today, a green comet, called Lulin, will be visible to the naked eye after 10pm tonight. It should be located to the right of saturn in the southern skies, below the constellation of Leo. It will be seen by places of mid-northern latitudes, such as North America and Europe. The reason for its green coloring is due to ionized cyanogen and carbon gases emitting radiation in green wavelengths. The special thing about this comet is that for the first time ever, it entered our solar system and also for the first time it will be seen by human eyes. It was discovered in Nantou, Taiwan on July 11, 2007 through a collaboration between Taiwanese and Chinese astronomers.

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