Solar Eclipse watchers urged to spot ‘green devil’ in sky in once-in-a-lifetime moment – use ‘Jupiter trick’ to find it
A RARE solar eclipse phenomenon is occurring next week on April 8.
A total of 13 US states will be in the path of totality and the others will experience a partial eclipse of varying degrees.
The event will also be a great time to view a green comet, which is currently shooting past Earth.
Those viewing the eclipse in the path of totality have a great chance of viewing the comet if the sky is dark enough in their location.
The comet is known as the Mother of Dragons and also 12P/Pons-Brooks.
It received its Mother of Dragons nickname as ESA researchers think it’s the parent body of the kappa-Draconids meteor shower.
It’s also being referred to as the green devil due to a photo, which looks like it has devil horns.
The comet is about 10.5 miles and easy to spot if you know where to look.
April is a great month to view it before it disappears again for another 71 years.
HOW TO SEE THE COMET DURING THE SOLARE ECLIPSE
A good technique for finding the comet during the total eclipse involves finding Jupiter.
The planet will appear as a small bright dot to the upper left of the eclipse.
Look up again and to the right and this is where the comet will be, in between the sun and Jupiter.
Remember you should never look at the Sun directly.
You can take off your eclipse glasses when the Sun is completely blocked and the sky is dark.
After this, either put your glasses back on or look away and find a new way to watch the phenomenon.
The comet will not be bright enough to view through eclipse glasses.
What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here's what you need to know, according to Nasa...
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn’t vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vaporizing)