Gennady Borisov, a Crimean amateur astronomer, has made an important discovery — he has discovered a new comet in the Solar System. According to the researcher himself, this is not the first time he has discovered comets, and now he ranks second among amateur astronomers in the world in terms of the number of comets discovered.
I have discovered a new comet. The discovery occurred early in the morning of November 8. Tonight I received a certificate from Harvard from the Minor Planet Center, which registered the comet and gave it the name C/2024 V1 (Borisov).
He reported that he had been hunting for a new comet for a year, spending a lot of time observing and processing data. The man admitted that his strength was already running out.
And then, in the early morning, while surveying the northern part of the sky in the constellation Ursa Major, he noticed an object that he initially mistook for an asteroid. He continued to observe, took pictures, collected information, and then, combining the frames, saw that the object had a faint tail. It was a comet.
The comet discovered by the resident of Crimea became the thirteenth in his track record. Now he ranks second in the world among amateur astronomers in terms of the number of comets discovered. The first place belongs to a researcher from Australia, who has already discovered 18.
By February 2025, the comet named after Borisov will be approximately one and a half astronomical units away from Earth. It will be visible between Mars and Jupiter. The next passage of the comet through the Solar System is expected in 3700 years.
Earlier, Crimean scientists discovered more than 750 asteroids on a Soviet telescope. Astrophysicists have already received priority in determining the orbits of 42 of them. This will allow specialists to give the asteroids names.
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