The green kite Lulin, close up

2009/02/19 Kortabitarte Egiguren, Irati - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Astronomia

Comet Lulin approaches Earth. Next to Earth on the 24th, it passes to 61 million kilometers. Far enough on the human scale. Not so much on the cosmic scale. NASA experts predict a great brightness. It will be on the visual border, but with binoculars it will be easily visible. At 3 in the morning will be the best way to see the comet.

Lulin is green and is due to the gases that form its atmosphere. In fact, cyanogen (poisonous gas present in many comets) and diatomic carbon acquire a green glow when illuminated with solar.

This comet was first known in Taiwan in July 2007. Scientist Quanzhi Ye found that it was a comet based on images obtained by 19-year-old Chi-Sheng Lin at the Lulin observatory.

Image courtesy of: Jack Newton