Astronomy Events

C/2019 2I Borisov – Intersteller Comet Closet Approach - Sun 29th Dec 2019

C/2019 Q4 would be just the second visitor from another star system ever detected, after the 2017 discovery of the enigmatic space rock known as ‘Oumuamua. While its origins are not yet entirely certain, C/2019 Q4 is a confirmed comet. Already, astronomers have detected that the object—which is probably a couple miles across—has a coma, the fuzzy sheath of dust and gas that forms as sunlight heats up a comet’s icy surface.

That means scientists will be able to collect much more data on its composition than they could for ‘Oumuamua. For one, C/2019 Q4 is bigger and brighter, which offers more opportunities to study its light and tease out chemical clues. What’s more, astronomers discovered ‘Oumuamua only on its way out of the solar system—but C/2019 Q4 is still inbound. It will make its closest approach to the sun on December 7, and it will come closest to Earth, within 290 million kilometres, on December 29 (via National Geographic)

Latest Event - Great Sydney Total Solar Eclipse 2028

Ok so this might be a little premature 4 years out from the event, but hey – why not get the hype machine rolling early right? There’s a lot of time to prepare and practice or at the very least, scratch a few days off your future calendar to come join us and the rest of Sydney for a total solar eclipse with a “greatest duration” of totality that passes right over the Bintel store in Glebe! Almost 4 glorious minutes of darkness await during totality. To check the map for your predicted time and proximity to totality check NASA’s website here.