NSU Astronomer Captured Comet 220P/McNaught

Mikhail Maslov, an engineer at the NSU “Vega” observatory, captured comet 220P/McNaught, which is currently experiencing its second outburst of activity.

Comet 220P/McNaught was discovered on May 20, 2004, by Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught. It is a short-period comet, completing one orbit around the Sun in approximately 5.5 Earth years. The comet’s latest return occurred this year.

— Initially, nothing special was expected: the maximum brightness of the comet was predicted to be at the level of 17-18 stellar magnitude. However, it produced two significant bursts of activity, likely associated with the partial breakup of its nucleus and the ejection into space of a large amount of material, which increased the amount of reflected sunlight — on May 31 and August 3 — which increased its brightness by 10,000 times — from 18 to 8 magnitude after the first burst, and by 600 times — from 14 to 7 — after the second. As a result, comet 220P/McNaught went from being an unremarkable object to one of the brightest comets of 2026. Currently, the brightness of the comet is gradually decreasing again after the second burst of activity. If no new outbursts occur, the ejected material will dissipate in 2-3 months and the comet will return to its usual brightness level., — he said Mikhail Maslov.

The comet was photographed in the first half of August in the Ordynsky district using a telescope with a focal length of 620 mm and a Pentax KP camera; an AZ-EQ6 astronomical mount was also used. The image shows the yellowish fan-shaped dust tail of the comet, which grows longer each day as the ejected material moves farther from the nucleus. The brighter central axis of this tail consists of the largest particles distributed along the comet’s orbit. The blue-green glow around the comet’s nucleus is the lightest component—ionized gases spreading out from the nucleus in all directions, quickly broken down by solar radiation and dispersed into space.

Other notable astronomical events in the first half of August are presented below.

Peak of the Perseid meteor shower

On the night from August 12 to 13, the peak of the Perseids meteor shower could be observed — one of the so-called “big three” showers, meaning one of the three most active annual meteor showers. At its peak, its activity reaches about 100 meteors per hour for visual observations. In 2026, the peak of the Perseids coincided with the new moon, so moonlight did not interfere with watching the shower. Astronomers from NSU managed to capture photos of 67 meteors during 2.5 hours on the night from August 12 to 13.

Total solar eclipse

The eclipse on August 12, 2026, occurred along a path of totality 130 kilometers wide. The point of maximum eclipse was located over the Atlantic Ocean — near the western coast of Iceland (approximately 65.2° N, 25.2° W). The maximum duration lasted 2 minutes and 18 seconds.

The duration of the total phase at a specific point in the shadow path depends on a combination of many factors. For example, in Spain, at the center of the shadow path, the duration of the total phase ranged from 1 minute 40 seconds to 1 minute 50 seconds, while in Taimyr it was 1 minute 35 seconds. The total phase was also observed by residents of Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and northeastern Portugal.

This eclipse became part of a series separated by the saros (a period of about 18 years). It repeated through the saros the eclipse of August 1, 2008, which could be observed in Novosibirsk.

During the 2008 eclipse, the solar corona was symmetrical and neat, as it was a period of quiet Sun — with few spots and active regions. A photo of the total solar eclipse taken by NSU astronomers using an H-alpha filter, along with the mathematical processing of this photo, also shows symmetrical magnetic field lines.

At the same time, the solar corona of 2026 is “ruffled” and asymmetrical. At 9 o’clock, there is a large prominence from an active region on the Sun, and groups of spots are visible on the opposite side. The photo, where the shape of the corona is most distinguishable, is taken from open sources.

In Russia in 2030, it will be possible to observe an annular solar eclipse.

Fall of an Elon Musk rocket fragment on the surface of the Moon

Among recent notable events, the fall of a fragment of Elon Musk’s rocket on the surface of the Moon should be noted. Scientists managed to find out that the spectrum of the dust cloud caused by the fall of such a massive body still does not contain water, which future conquerors of Earth’s satellite had greatly hoped for. The spectrum revealed only sodium and lithium.