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Old Comets for a New Year

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Bianca
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« on: January 04, 2008, 11:08:23 am »








Where and when to look


On New Year's Day, 8P/Tuttle passed closest to Earth; a distance of 23.5 million miles (37.8 million kilometers). Although it is now slowly moving away from the Earth, it will continue to slowly approach the sun, passing closest to it on Jan. 27. Comets are most visible when they near the sun, which lights up material that boils off the comet.


So, during these next two weeks, the comet will hold nearly steady in brightness at around magnitude 6. For those blessed with clear, dark skies far from significant light pollution, the comet might be even glimpsed with the unaided eye. But good binoculars or a small telescope will easily bring 8P/Tuttle into view if you know where to train them; it should appear as a small fuzzy star possibly sporting a faint, narrow tail.

The comet will be situated against the rather dim stars that compose the so-called "watery region" of the sky, passing through eastern Pisces (the fishes) into Cetus (the whale) during the night of Jan. 6-7. On that night, it will lie not far to the west from one of the brightest stars in Pisces: fourth magnitude, Al Rischa, located at the point where the two fish are tied. In fact, the name comes from the Arabic word for "cord."

For the next couple of weeks both Pisces and Cetus can be conveniently found well up in the southern sky between 6 to 8 p.m. local standard time.

Comet 8P/Tuttle will appear to skid south in its orbit against the background stars of these two constellations. After moving through Cetus, 8P/Tuttle will pass into the dim, shapeless constellation of Fornax (the furnace) on Jan. 16. It will continue to plunge south thereafter, gradually becoming unfavorably placed for viewers in the Northern Hemisphere, although those living south of the equator will be able to follow the now fading comet right on into February.
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