Comet in night sky this month will be closest for 246 years

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On March 22 this year, comet P/2016 BA14 PanSTARRS – will soar past the planet at a distance of just 2.1 million miles, or nine lunar distances.  It is the closest a comet has flown to the Earth since July 1770, when Lexell’s Comet passed at 1.4 million miles, so close that astronomer Charles Messier recorded that its coma looked four times the size of the full Moon.

Captain Cook, sailing in the South Pacific, saw the comet for the first time shortly before dawn on August 30 and measured its tail at 42°.

However, Pan-STARRS– named after the observatory in Hawaii that first spotted it – is unlikely to put on such a spectacular display. Travelling at 31,345 miles per hour (50,445 km/h), its course means that although it is close to our planet, it is far away from the Sun, making it look very dim. It will be the third-closest known comet to pass our planet in recorded history and it may produce some meteors in the 48 hours leading up to its approach.

It is the first time the comet has ever been spotted and some astronomers have speculated that it may be a piece of comet 252P/LINEAR 12 which has broken off.  252P/LINEAR 12 will pass at a distance of 3.2 million miles on March 21.

Dr Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Association.  “252P/Linear 12 will need very large binoculars or a decent telescope, and P/2016 BA14 will be even fainter.

Professional stargazers are planning to use the Hubble Space Telescope to look at both comets in detail.  Light given off by the comets acts like a fingerprint so scientists will be able to work out if the bodies were originally one.

Comets are different to asteroids as they are made up of gas and ice rather than rock or metal. It is thought they could have seeded Earth with the building blocks of life, bringing huge amounts of chemicals and water.

Question 1 (2 points)  Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.
a.  P/2016 BA14 PanSTARRS will pass nearer to the earth than Lexell’s Comet did.
b.  PanSTARRS was first seen by scientists in Hawaii.
c.   PanSTARRS might have originally been part of another comet.
d.  Comets contain the same material as asteroids.

Question 2  (2 points)  Answer the following questions in your own words.
a.   What did Messier and Captain Cook note down about Lexell’s Comet?
b.   How are professionals going to observe the comets?

Question 3 (1·5 points)  Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.
a. fly high  (para. 1)     b.  not bright  (para. 3)     c.  to suggest  (para. 4)  
d.  to emit   (para. 5)   e.  large  (para. 6)

Question 4   (1.5 points)  Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a.  PanSTARRS’ course means that it is far from the sun, making it look very dim.
If PanSTARRS’ course ….
b.  People will need very large binoculars or a decent telescope to see the comet.
Very large …
c.  “Light given off by the comets acts like a fingerprint so scientists will be able to work out if the bodies were originally one.”
Scientists explained that light ….

Question 5  (3 points)  Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic: 
Why should we spend money on space exploration when we have so many problems here on planet Earth?