Reply To: New SWAN comet in the morning sky

Forums Comets New SWAN comet in the morning sky Reply To: New SWAN comet in the morning sky

#629296
Nick James
Participant

Thanks Richard. Tracking it down was a good team effort. It is currently on the PCCP but it is most definitely a comet!

It is well placed for us to follow from the UK. It is moving north but the elongation is decreasing as the Sun moves north too. The current orbit is based on astrometry from March 26 – April 3 and it may change a bit. The orbit is parabolic and the comet reaches perihelion on May 1 at a distance of 0.33 au. For us it moves slowly northwards in the morning sky, passing under the pole in late April and then becoming an evening object. It should brighten by a couple of magnitudes from where it is at the moment.

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