Comet SWAN and comet Atlas to fly close to the surface of Earth in May 2020

Space can evidently be mysterious and scary for being an extended void but at times it also brings about beautiful and mesmerizing events that fill up the sky with beautiful astronomical events. Be it eclipses, spotting other planets or meteor showers, people interested in exploring the space can find their heart's way while not leaving the planet actually, but experiencing these phenomena in the sky. In the month of May itself, the Eta Aquariid meteor shower had lit up the sky with beautiful hues and sparkles. Now, it is expected that both Comet Swan and Comet Atlas will be making a close flyby from the Earth. 

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Comet Atlas and Swan to fly by Earth soon

Comet Swan

Comet Swan was actually spotted first by an amateur astronomer named Michael Mattiazzo who was looking at the data from NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory i.e SOHO. The comet first made an appearance in images clocked by SOHO's Solar Wind Anisotropies Instrument on April 11, 2020, and was thus named comet SWAN.

The instrument which captured comet Swan for the first time was actually on a lookout for hydrogen in the solar system but caught the image of the comet as it was exuding a large amount of hydrogen in the form of water ice. The comet Swan is expected to fly really close to the Earth on May 13, 2020. 

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Comet Atlas 

Comet Atlas was discovered back in 2019 and it was deemed to be one of the brightest comets to be ever witnessed. But unfortunately, its brightness has now been dimmed down as comet Atlas disintegrated in April 2020. It is not uncommon for comets to be of the unpredictable nature as they often burst or disintegrate. The comet Atlas was supposed to fly really close to the earth in all its might and brightness on May 23, 2020. But though the comet will be visible to the naked eye, it will not shine bright. 

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