We may be able to see the 'second moon' in the sky with the naked eye next May

This second moon is actually a comet called Atlas (original name is C / 2019 Y4) will have the same brightness as our Moon and is heading towards Earth but not crashing.

Atlas was first discovered on December 28, 2019 and is currently near the orbit of Mars. This comet is increasing flight speed. As expected, the time Atlas is at the closest distance to the Earth will take place in May.

We may be able to see the 'second moon' in the sky with the naked eye next May Picture 1

Once discovered, this comet has low brightness, to be able to observe that scientists must use telescopes. However, it is now getting closer to Earth and becoming 4,000 times brighter so it can only be viewed with binoculars. Even in the near future, we can use our eyes to observe this comet.

Observing a comet with the naked eye is a rare event. The last time we saw a comet with the naked eye was in 1997, a comet called Hale-Bopp.

Atlas is currently lighting up very fast, and by the end of May, it will be brightest thanks to the amplification of the Sun's light when the distance between it and the Sun is only 0.25 astronomical units. However, there is still another possibility that Atlas will be burned by the sun's temperature on the flight.