Comet Austin, which "lost its oomph" and failed to brighten as much as expected, is sailing out of the solar system on an endless space odyssey after making its closest approach to Earth early Friday.
Discovered Dec. 6 by an amateur astronomer in New Zealand, Comet Austin made its closest approach to the sun April 9, passing about 32 million miles from Earth's star, before heading back toward the depths of space.The comet's closest approach to Earth came around 4 a.m. MDT Friday at a distance of 22 million miles on its way back toward space. It is the comet's first and only visit to the inner solar system.
Astronomers initially had high hopes for Comet Austin, predicting it would brighten considerably in the warmth of the sun to become an "easy" naked-eye target.
But Alan MacRobert, an associate editor with Sky & Telescope magazine, said the comet has not lived up to expectations.
"It's turned out to be much fainter than we had hoped," MacRobert said by telephone from Boston. "You have to know exactly where to look, which means you need to have a star chart to figure out the correct point to examine, and you have to be far away from any cities and towns with their light pollution.
"Under those conditions, yes, people are seeing it with their naked eye. But most people, the general public, probably can't expect to see it with the naked eye."