SWAN25F is a newly discovered comet that is streaking through the sky this month. It was only just identified in March of this year by amateurs, but it’s already getting brighter and putting on a show.
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00:00This is SWAN 25F, the newly discovered comet that is streaking through the sky this month.
00:09It was only just identified in March of this year by amateurs using SWAN and camera systems
00:14on NASA's Soho spacecraft. However, if you want to catch a glimpse, it will be streaking through
00:19the early morning skies over the next couple of days. According to Earthsky, the comet will appear
00:24to be heading toward the Andromeda Galaxy. They add that you will likely need either a telescope
00:28or binoculars to see it. The comet's tail will appear green due to the interaction between the
00:33carbon molecules being released and the sun. The tail is also expected to glow brighter and brighter
00:37as it approaches the sun, and it might even be visible to the naked eye by May. That is,
00:42if it survives its May 1st close flyby with our solar system's central star. At that point,
00:47its viewing window will likely switch to sunset. Comets are relatively small, icy, and rocky objects,
00:53oftentimes considered cosmic time capsules, potentially carrying hidden clues
00:57about the early days of our solar system.