Comet Aphelion 2021: A Near Flyby Near the Center of the Milky Way
For any lover of astronomy and the cosmos, an aphelion represents the end of one solar system and the commencement of another. It is the closest point to the sun that has not yet received an Earth-orbiting asteroid. It happens to be quite close – 4.6 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Aphelion is actually an adjective meaning “after a time.” In the book of Genesis, we read about the creation of the stars, which occurred billions of years ago. When God said “let there be light,” it meant that he had placed the day and night.
Then, according to Bible cosmologists, it became night when the Sunset. Many scientists believe that our solar system is much older than the Sun. Because of this, some propose that the biblical date of creation is much older than previously believed. Aphelion is the name given to the closest known comets to the Earth. The astronomers have named it Aphelion 2021 and it is expected to make a close flyby on July Third.
According to the Bible, the gravitational pull of the Sun, Jupiter, and Mars combined to make Aphelion somewhat close to the earth. At the moment, it is located around 6.5 million miles from the center of the Solar System. The object’s elliptical orbit brings it near Earth every five days. Research made by Dr. Elbe Cebrian and his team of students at JPL, using data obtained by the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory, suggests that Aphelion will pass the star Sedna on July 11. When it does, it will become the closest celestial body to be found in a solar system ever discovered.
Because Aphelion is very close to the earth, it will pass very close to Earthoid, or rocky interplanetary space objects, such as comet dust. It could also affect how much material it ejects into space. Comet debris, in general, contains more water than dust, which means that Aphelion may contain more ice particles than comet cumulonimbus. The closer it gets to Earth, the more ice and dust it is expected to eject. Even though there is no chance of comets being brought back to Earth like Comet Hale-Bopp, astronomers still expect to find frozen comets passing by Aphelion during a close passage.
The brightest star in the skies is likely to cause quite a disturbance in Earth’s orbit. Scientists have called it an extremely near perihelion passage. This is not a surprise. The interval between aphelions is actually longer than the period that the Earth has been around. By comparing the period with the star’s elliptical orbit, researchers can calculate its parallax or distance. The result is the exact parallax measurement for any two objects within one Astronomical Unit (AU).
The comet will come very close to Earth on May 8th, at a distance of about 8 kilometers. Scientists expect that this close encounter will cause a significant change in Earth’s orbit, bringing it closer to the Sun, and potentially allowing it to receive a super Solar flare. When a comet is very close to a parent body, the gravity is very weak and can result in large gravitational slings that often lead to cometary collisions. Comet showers are the result of comets hitting and being torn apart by nearby objects. Comet dust accumulates around these icy bodies, and when it comes into contact with NASA’s Very Large Telescope, it provides astronomers with a very deep, extended view of the cosmos.
Comet Hale-Bopp, as it was discovered, is thought to be nearly two hundred and forty million years old, although astronomers are speculating that it might be much older. Comet Hale-Bopp shows a very unique tail – a thin, wispy material that astronomers believe might be made from organic molecules (such as amino acids) or carbon dioxide. Comet Hale-Bopp’s discovery, plus predictions by scientists, led to the naming of the Comet after Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and consequently, the first near-Earth celestial landing. Comet Hale-Bopp is the closest and most well-defined companion to Halley’s Comet, and astronomers expect it to eventually become another asteroid.
Comet Aphelion 2021 isn’t expected to be a close encounter with Earth for at least another million years. If it does, it will be highly visible to amateur astronomers using telescopes on earth and space telescopes orbiting the Earth and other space vehicles. Its flyby will be visible from Earth and space in late July and early August. It will be visible from Earth and space in October and November, and again in January and February, but all indications are that it will not be visible to us. However, in 2021 it was detected by telescopes using the Very Small Explorer (V Shoemaker) and had a camera placed on it that showed us some fascinating photos of the comet.
