cometchasing.skyhound.comComet Chasing

in January Comet chasing is the visual observation of telescopic comets. News This month brings the slimmest pickings for telescopic comets in recent memory. C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) will reach perihelion in early May 2020. It is currently predicted to reach naked eye visibility in mid May 2020. C/2018 F4 (PANSTARRS) is past perihelion, which occurred in early December 2019. C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) passed perihelion in mid November. C/2018 W2 (Africano) passed perihelion in early September. 260P/McNaught passed perihelion in early September. 2I/Borisov (formerly C/2019 Q4) is the first interstellar comet, discovered on August 30, 2019 by G. Borisov. It took until September 10/11 for the interstellar nature of this comet to become readily apparent. On September 24 the IAU officially recognized it as interstellar and assigned a new designation. It will reach perihelion in early December, when it will come within 1.9 AU of the sun and earth. At that time it will be in Hydra. It isn't yet clear how bright it will become, but with comets there is always the possibility that it will brighten enough to be observable visually in large instruments. More here... C/2018 A6 (Gibbs) passed perihelion in mid July. 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann T his comet has o utbursts, resulting in a brightening of 0.5 - 1.0 magnitudes, which occur roughly every 59 days, typically taking 5-10 days to subside. Up to three subsequent outbursts may occur 5-10 days afterward, each typically smaller than the last, although on some occasions they can be even brighter than the first. These outbursts make 29P one of the most interesting comets to follow, both visually and scientifically. 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann has a 14.8-year orbital period, and last passed perihelion in early March 2019. It varies in its distance from the Sun from 5.8 AU (at perihelion) to 6.3 AU (at aphelion), which is an unusually small variation for a comet, and remains quite far from the sun at all times. This means that it can be observed more or less contuniously. P/2008 Y12 (SOHO) was not recovered , even though it was predicted to be approximately magnitude 12 in July. 2I/Borisov - the first discovered interstellar comet Three 10-minute exposures taken with iTelescope T11 at New Mexico Skies on the morning of September 12, 2019 - Greg Crinklaw Find out more and track the science as it develops here. Comet Visibility in the Eyepiece This page uses code developed for SkyTools 3 to predict the visibility of a comet in the eyepiece. Predicting how much aperture is required to see a comet is a very complex task. Have a look for yourself: a comparison of the predictions below (such as "visible in small telescopes") to the magnitude of each comet shows just how poor an indicator the magnitude alone really is. When you read below that a particular aperture is required to see a comet you can have a reasonable degree of confidence that the comet can in fact be seen in the eyepiece. But always remember, comets are like cats. They both have tails and do what they want, and not always what we expect. This is one of the things that makes comet chasing interesting! Comet Synopses for January Explanation of Comet Synopses and charts (read this if you have questions) C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS): An evening comet visible in binoculars This comet begins the month in Perseus at magnitude 9.6. Look for a 2' coma. It should brighten slowly. FINDER CHART Latitude Visibility January 4 Visibility January 11 Visibility January 18 Visibility January 25 Visibility February 1 Nights Visible 55 o N High at ~02:10 High in moonlight at ~20:40 High at ~19:00 High at ~18:50 Fairly high at ~01:00 1- 40 o N Fairly high at ~01:50 High in moonlight at ~20:30 High at ~19:00 High at ~19:00 Fairly high in the northern sky at ~00:30 1- Equator Fairly high in moonlight at ~20:10 Fairly high during evening twilight at ~19:10 Fairly high at ~19:30 Fairly high in the northern sky at ~19:30 Fairly high in the northern sky during evening twilight at ~19:30 1- 30 o S Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible 1-19 C/2018 N2 (ASASSN): An evening comet visible in a 6-inch (15 cm) telescope This comet begins the month in Andromeda at magnitude 11.6. Look for a 2' coma. It should fade slowly. FINDER CHART Latitude Visibility January 4 Visibility January 11 Visibility January 18 Visibility January 25 Visibility February 1 Nights Visible 55 o N High during evening twilight at ~18:00 High in moonlight at ~18:20 High at ~18:30 High at ~18:40 High during evening twilight at ~18:40 1- 40 o N High during evening twilight at ~18:20 High during evening twilight at ~18:30 High at ~18:40 High at ~18:50 High during evening twilight at ~18:50 1- Equator Fairly high during evening twilight at ~19:20 Fairly high during evening twilight at ~19:10 Fairly high in the northern sky during evening twilight at ~19:30 Fairly high in the northern sky during evening twilight at ~19:20 Low in the northern sky during evening twilight at ~19:20 1- 30 o S Very low in the northern sky during evening twilight at ~20:00 Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible 1-8 260P/McNaught: An evening comet visible in a 12.5-inch (32 cm) telescope This comet begins the month in Perseus at magnitude 13.4. Look for a 40" coma. It should fade by about 1.2 magnitudes by month's end. FINDER CHART Latitude Visibility January 4 Visibility January 11 Visibility January 18 Visibility January 25 Visibility February 1 Nights Visible 55 o N Fairly high at ~02:10 High in moonlight at ~20:40 High at ~19:30 High at ~19:10 Fairly high at ~01:00 1- 40 o N Fairly high in the western sky at ~01:50 High in moonlight at ~20:40 High at ~19:20 High at ~19:10 Fairly high in the western sky at ~00:30 1- Equator High in moonlight at ~19:50 High during evening twilight at ~19:10 High at ~19:40 High at ~19:40 High in moonlight at ~19:30 1- 30 o S Low in the northern sky during evening twilight at ~20:30 Low in the northern sky during evening twilight at ~20:00 Low in the northern sky during evening twilight at ~20:30 Low in the northern sky during evening twilight at ~20:30 Low in the northern sky during evening twilight at ~20:10 1- 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann: An evening comet visible in a 16-inch (41 cm) telescope This comet begins the month in Pisces at magnitude 13.2. Look for a 50" coma. It should fade slowly. FINDER CHART Latitude Visibility January 4 Visibility January 11 Visibility January 18 Visibility January 25 Visibility February 1 Nights Visible 55 o N High during evening twilight at ~18:00 High in moonlight at ~18:20 High at ~18:30 High at ~18:40 Fairly high during evening twilight at ~18:40 1- 40 o N High during evening twilight at ~18:20 High at ~18:40 High at ~18:50 High at ~18:50 High during evening twilight at ~18:50 1- Equator High during evening twilight at ~19:20 High during evening twilight at ~19:10 High at ~19:30 High at ~19:30 Fairly high during evening twilight at ~19:20 1- 30 o S Fairly high during evening twilight at ~20:20 Fairly high during evening twilight at ~20:00 Fairly high in the western sky during evening twilight at ~20:30 Low in the western sky during evening twilight at ~20:20 Low in the western sky during evening twilight at ~20:10 1- C/2018 F4 (PANSTARRS): A southern hemisphere evening comet visible in an 18-inch (46 cm) telescope This comet begins the month in Octans at magnitude 13.8. Look for a 50" coma. It should remain constant, moving into Tucana by month's end. The best visibility is mid-month as seen from the southern hemisphere. FINDER CHART Latitude Visibility January 4 Visibility January 11 Visibility January 18 Visibility January 25 Visibility February 1 Nights Visible 55 o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible 40 o N Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Equator Very low in the southern sky during evening twilight at ~19:10 Very low in the southern sky during evening twilight at ~19:10 Low in the southern sky during evening tw...