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A comet is currently brightening faster than expected, giving hope that it will become a prominent object visible with the unaided eye in May. An image of Comet C/2019 ATLAS taken from Walmer, Kent, UK, on March 12th, 2020. Image credit: Paul Sutherland The celestial visitor is labelled C/2019 Y4 ATLAS, indicating that it was discovered in 2019 by a sky survey called the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). This robotic survey, based in Hawaii, searches for small objects to help defend Earth against possible future impacts, and has found several comets as well as asteroids. Comet C/2019 Y4...

When skygazers looked up at the Great Comet at the turn of the 19th century, some saw it as a dire omen of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and other events of catastrophic proportion. Today, the Great Comet presages a different sort of threat — the one posed to art by political correctness. “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” the Broadway hit based on a 70-page excerpt of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” delivered an emotional final performance Sunday to a packed crowd at the Imperial Theatre. The decline became evident when Josh Groban, the singer-songwriter who played Count...

UPDATE 2: Patinkin told Tbe New York Times today that he was cancelling his plans to appear in The Great Comet because of the diversity issues. “I would never accept a role knowing it would harm another actor,” Patinkin said. “I hear what members of the community have said and I agree with them. I am a huge fan of Oak and I will, therefore, not be appearing in the show.” UPDATE 1: In an Instagram post this morning, Onaodowan confirmed that he is leaving Great Comet August 13 and will not be returning. “I am grateful to have had...

Explanation: Was there ever another comet like ISON? Although no two comets are exactly alike, one that appears to have had notable similarities was Comet Kirch, the Great Comet of 1680. Like approaching Comet ISON, Comet Kirch was a bright sungrazer, making a very close approach to the surface of the Sun. Neither comet, coincidently, is a member of the most common group of sungrazers -- the Kreutz group -- populated by remnants of a comet that disintegrated near the Sun hundreds of years ago. The long tail of Comet Kirch is depicted in the above painting by Lieve Versheier....

"If you live in the Northern hemisphere, this evening is your best remaining opportunity to catch Comet McNaught in its full glory. The comet is sinking rapidly from one evening to the next, but it's also getting brighter.."