Below is a list of comets that have come closest to Earth. Competitors are ranked.
Click on any blue bar to view information about the desired comet.
1 Comet Leksel
In the entire history of observations, comet Leksel flew closest to our planet. On July 1, 1770, the comet approached the Earth at a distance of 2.24 million km. This is about 6 distances from the Earth to the Moon.
The comet is named after Andrei Ivanovich Leksel, who calculated its orbit. Discovered by Charles Messier on June 14, 1770. In 1767, the comet came very close to Jupiter and, as a result of its gravity, changed its orbit and passed at the closest distance from our planet.
Leksel's comet ranks first in the list of comets that have flown closest to Earth. It passed only 5.9 lunar distances from Earth in July 1770. It was so close that Charles Messier noted that the comet's coma looked roughly like four visible moons.
2. Comet Tempel-Tuttle
Comet Tempel-Tuttle 55P/1366 U1
According to astronomers' calculations, comet 55P/1366 U1 (Temple-Tuttle) passed Earth in October 1366 at a distance of 8.9 lunar distances.
Comet Tempel-Tuttle from the family of Uranus. The comet has a nucleus with a diameter of 4 kilometers and orbits the Sun in approximately 33.2 years.
As a result of the release of matter from the nucleus of a comet, the Leonid meteor shower is formed. The comet was discovered by Ernst Tempel on December 19, 1865 and Horace Tuttle on January 6, 1866 independently of each other. In honor of them, it got its name.
3. Comet P/2016 BA14
Comet P/2016 BA14
Comet P/2016 BA14 (Pan-STARRS) passed Earth on March 22, 2016. Comet P/2016 BA14 passed at a distance of 3.6 million kilometers or about 9 lunar distances from Earth, which is very close for a comet.
Comet P/2016 BA14 is the third comet to pass closest to our planet on record. P/2016 BA14 is the closest comet to Earth in the last 246 years!
4. Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock
Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock
This small comet came very close to our planet. Almost catching up with the record holder comet Leksel-Messier.
In 1983, comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock appeared in the sky at a distance of only 4.7 million km from Earth. Scientists were able to determine that the substance of this comet contains sulfur.
In 1983, comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock could be seen with the naked eye. She literally moved across the night sky. Note that most comets move so slowly against the sky that you can only notice their movement if you watch them for at least an hour.
In May 1983 comet C/1983 H1 (IRAS-Araki-Alcock) passed at 12.2 lunar distances from Earth. Comet IRAS currently ranks fourth on the list after comet P/2016 BA14.
5. Comet Hartley-2
Comet Hartley-2
A small comet 103P / Hartley (or Hartley-2) flew past our planet at 11 million km. The comet was visible from Earth with the naked eye on October 20, 2010.
Hartley-2 belongs to short-period comets - it makes a complete flight around the Sun in 6 years and 5 months. However, it may change. Hartley-2 belongs to the Jupiter family - a group of comets, the point of maximum distance from the Sun for which is within the influence of Jupiter. The gravitational grip of the gas giant either throws the comet beyond its orbit, or, on the contrary, attracts it - the fluctuations amount to tens of millions of kilometers! So, in 1971, the period of Hartley-2 was a year longer. A comet rotates around its own axis in 18 hours. It is interesting that the comet rotates along two axes at once - approximately along the length and width.
Hartley 2 will completely disappear after 100 revolutions around the Sun. In Earth's night sky, the comet reached magnitude +5 and could be seen with ordinary binoculars. The tail and coma of the comet were clearly distinguished. The combination of the high outgassing of the comet's nucleus and the short distance provided very detailed data on the composition of the comet.
However, most of the data on Hartley-2 scientists received using the Deep Impact spacecraft. By completing its unusual mission to shoot down comet Tempel 1 in 2005, the Deep Impact probe saved a lot of resources and paved the way for Hartley 2. Approach of 695 kilometers was enough to determine the main characteristics of Hartley-2, namely:
The size of the comet is very modest - no more than 2 km long. She has a dumbbell shape typical of actively decaying comets. The thickness of the thin bridge of the comet is only 400 meters.
Hartley-2 consists mainly of frozen water with hydrocarbon impurities and "dry ice" - a solid form of CO2, carbon dioxide. During the gradual approach of the comet to perihelion, the point of closest approach to the Sun, they begin to actively evaporate. From the thickness of the nucleus - the solid part of the comet - jets break out, streams of heated gases.
The surface of Hartley-2 is as black as fresh asphalt. It reflects only 2% of the incident light from the Sun. At the ends of the comet's nucleus, there are placers of stones with a diameter of 50-80 meters - they are several times brighter than the main surface of Hartley-2.
Jets and gases of surface evaporation sweep out a large amount of dust, which lies in thick layers between layers of ice. Without these bright special effects, the dark core of Hartley 2 is hard to see.
The most detailed image of the surface of Comet Hartley 2
6 Comet Hyakutake
Comet Hyakutake (Hyakutake)
Comet Hyakutake flew from our planet at a distance of 1/10 from the Sun to the Earth - 14.9 million km. The comet illuminated the sky with a bluish-green light due to the presence of diatomic carbon emissions in its composition. Hyakutake was also the first comet to emit X-rays.
Comet Hyakutake, officially named C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake), is a long-period comet discovered on January 30, 1996 by Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake. In March 1996, the comet passed relatively close to the Earth (its approach was one of the closest approaches of comets to the Earth in the last 200 years). The comet was very bright and easily visible to the naked eye in the night sky, earning it the name "Big Comet of 1996". For some time, Comet Hyakutake eclipsed Comet Hale-Bopp, which at that time was approaching the inner region of the solar system.
The observation of Comet Hyakutake led to several scientific discoveries. Most surprising for scientists was the first detected X-ray emission from a comet, probably caused by the interaction of the ionized solar wind with neutral atoms in the comet's coma. In addition, the Ulysses spacecraft unexpectedly crossed the tail of Comet Hyakutake at a distance of more than 500 million km from the nucleus, which indicates that this comet has the longest tail known at present.
Before the last passage of Comet Hyakutake through the solar system, its orbital period was 17,000 years, but after interacting with the gravitational field of the giant planets, it increased to 74,000 years.
7 Halley's Comet
most famous comet
The most famous comet is Halley's Comet, visible from Earth every 75-76 years. Thus, any person can observe it twice in his life.
Named after the astronomer Edmund Halley. The comet is associated with the Orionids and Aquarids meteor showers. Halley's Comet is the only short-period comet that is clearly visible to the naked eye. Since the earliest observations recorded in the historical sources of China and Babylon, at least 30 comet appearances have been noted. The first reliably identifiable sighting of Halley's comet dates back to 240 BC. The comet's last perihelion passage was February 9, 1986 in the constellation Aquarius. The next one is expected on July 28, 2061, and then on March 27, 2134.
During its appearance in 1986, Halley's Comet became the first comet to be explored by spacecraft, including the Soviet Vega-1 and Vega-2 spacecraft, which provided data on the structure of the cometary nucleus and the mechanisms of formation of the comet's coma and tail.
The perihelion of the comet is elevated above the plane of the ecliptic by 0.17 AU. e. Due to the large eccentricity of the orbit, the speed of Halley's comet with respect to the Earth is one of the largest among all bodies in the solar system. In 1910, when flying past our planet, it was 70.56 km / s (254016 km / h). Halley's comet approached the Earth at a distance of 0.1 AU.
8 Comet Lulin
Comet Lulin
In 2009, the closest comet to Earth was Comet Lulin (C/2007 N3 Lulin). Comet Lulin was visible to the naked eye in the constellation Leo as a speck, corresponding in brightness to a star of the fifth magnitude.
According to scientists, Comet Lulin was at a distance of 61 million km from Earth. The photographs of the comet showed two tails - plasma and dust, and in early February, part of the comet's tail was recorded as being torn off by the solar wind.
Comet Lulin was discovered in July 2007 by two Chinese astronomers Quan Zhi Ye and Chi Sheng Lin and was named after the Lulin Observatory in Taiwan, where one of them worked.
9 Comet McNaught
The brightest comet
Comet McNaught lit up the sky in 2007, becoming the brightest comet ever. McNaught was nicknamed the Great Comet of 2007. Astronomers managed to observe it, as a result shedding light on the matter of comets.
Comet C/2006 P1 was discovered by astronomer Robert McNaught in August 2006. In January-February 2007, Comet McNaught became the brightest comet visible from Earth in over 40 years. Luckily, the robotic spacecraft Ulysses unexpectedly crossed the tail of Comet McNaught in 2007, allowing astronomers to collect useful and necessary data.
The Ulysses spacecraft has penetrated the tail of Comet McNaught, which consists of ionized gas, the outflow of which extends to a distance of 1.5 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun! And this amounted to about 224 million km.
It reached its closest distance to Earth (0.81 astronomical units) on January 15, 2007.
10 Comet Hale-Bopp
The most memorable comet of the 20th century
Hale-Bopp is the most memorable comet of the 20th century. Earthlings watched her for 18 months from 1996 to 1997.
Comet Hale-Bopp circled the Sun, putting on a dazzling spectacle in Earth's night sky. In many pictures taken when the comet passed the perihelion point, the comet's memorable tails are clearly visible - whitish and bluish ion.
The ion tail stretches more than 10 degrees across the northern sky, fading somewhere near the Perseus double star cluster, while the comet's head is near the bright star Almac in the constellation Andromeda.
Comet Hale-Bopp was visible to the naked eye from about the end of March 1996 until September 1997.
On March 23, 1997, it approached the minimum distance to the Earth - 196 million km. The comet will return to Earth around the year 4390.
11. Comet of the Century
Comet of the Century flies to Earth
Brightest comet of the decade
Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) was discovered on September 21, 2012 by Russian astronomer Artem Novichonok and astronomer from Belarus Vitaly Nevsky at an observatory in the Kislovodsk region, which is part of the international ISON network. This comet can arrange an unprecedented celestial show and, if the forecasts come true, will become one of the brightest and largest comets in the history of mankind. So far, the comet looks like a small dot, but by autumn it will become brighter than the moon.
Telescope "Hubble" took a photo of the comet ISON, which is steadily approaching us. As a result of the analysis of the images, it was found that the nucleus of the comet ISON has a size of about 6 kilometers, a cloud of dust and gas around the nucleus of a celestial body reaches 5 thousand kilometers in diameter, and the length of the comet's tail exceeds 92 thousand kilometers. It is expected that as the comet approaches the Sun, its tail and gas envelope will increase.
Observations have shown that the comet dumps about 51000 kg of dust per minute, and the entire mass of the comet can be estimated at ~1.5 billion tons. Imagine what will happen if such a snowball with a diameter of 6 kilometers at a speed of approximately 75,600 km / h crashes into the Earth. For comparison, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs had a diameter of 10 kilometers, a mass of 4.1 trillion. tons and a speed of 30 km/s. Fortunately for us, the distance at which the comet will fly past the Earth is not dangerous, but for watching the show it is the most optimal.
Currently The comet is 600 million kilometers from the Sun and can only be seen from Earth through a super-powerful telescope. And still, even through a telescope, the comet will only look like a small bright dot. But day by day ISON will come closer and closer to the Earth. Astronomers promise that by the end of summer, earthlings will be able to see the comet even with household binoculars and home telescopes.
Forecasts
Expected, that ISON should come closer to the Sun than other comets. The moment of closest approach will come on November 28, 2013, when the comet will be at a distance of only 1.1 million kilometers from the surface of our star. At this time, the comet will be seen very clearly, and its brightness will exceed the brightness of the moon in the full moon (-13 magnitude). It will be the brightest comet that the inhabitants of the Earth have seen in the last decade or even a century. For this, comet ISON has already been called the Comet of the Century. The comet can be observed next to the Sun even during the day.
comet orbit, most likely parabolic. This means that it came from the Oort Cloud. On December 26, 2013, the comet will fly by at 0.4 AU. e. (60 million km) from the Earth. ISON has never made close encounters with the giant planets, and there are suggestions that it will not survive close encounters with the Sun's atmosphere. In general, as in the case of other comets, the fate of ISON will be decided by our luminary - whether it will receive the title of Comet of the Century, or melt without a trace, crumbling into small components. But if the comet survives, it will be visible even during the day (like the moon), and at night its plume will stretch widely across the entire earth's sky.
Observations with Deep Impact
NASA spacecraft Deep Impact is now observing Comet ISON. Based on images taken on January 17-18, 2013 by the camera aboard Deep Impact, scientists were even able to make a short video.
Scientists note:“We were delighted that we were able to make these observations when the comet was only 5 AU away. from the sun. Soon the comet should pass Mars at a fairly close distance, and we will try to observe it with the Curiosity rover from Mars, as well as track its movement with other vehicles in space.
What's ahead
So far, the brightest comet of the 20th century is C / 1965 S1 (Ikeya - Seki), which in 1965 had a magnitude of -10 at perihelion (brighter objects have more negative values. And the most unforgettable events of the 20th century are, of course, the observation of a comet from Earth Hale Bopp and the fall of a comet on Jupiter Shoemaker-Levy. Let's see if ISON can outshine these achievements.
Anyway, hope for the show cannot be lost, as comet C/2012 S1 could produce an unusual kind of meteor shower. This invisible rain will be very slow and may take months or years. At the same time, cometary dust from ISON is expected to create "silver clouds" - brilliant night clouds over the Earth's poles, which will glow with blue light.
Don't miss out on unforgettable sights. Comet ISON will be visible to the naked eye in both hemispheres for 2 months (from November of this year to January 2014).
NASA specialists published a video of a comet flying past the Earth in March 2016. This footage was edited from Goldstone Observatory radar images taken from space equipment that observed the approach of comet P/2016 BA14 to our planet between March 21 and 23. Astronomers have found that this celestial body approached the Earth at a distance of 3.6 to 4.1 million kilometers and rotated around its axis with a period of about 40 hours, writes Informing.
In a video of a comet flying by the Earth in March 2016, it is clearly seen that the comet P / 2016 BA14 has a very unusual shape, resembling a pear. The researchers were able to examine its features with an accuracy of up to 8 meters per pixel, which will allow them to further make a detailed analysis of this celestial body, which could lead to a tragedy on the "blue planet".
Scientists in the comments to the video of the comet flying past the Earth in March 2016 also said that the diameter of the celestial body was at least one kilometer. At the same time, this “space wanderer” was approaching our planet in the company with the 252P / LINEAR comet, which flew near the Earth at a distance of 5.2 million kilometers. Experts believe that 252P / LINEAR is a large fragment of the comet P / 2016 BA14 itself, the appearance of which in near-Earth space excited the entire scientific world.
Comet P/2016 BA14, which flew past the Earth, was not the last cosmic threat to our planet this year. Experts announced that in April 2016 an asteroid the size of the main building of Moscow State University will approach the "blue planet". Scientists believe that this huge cosmic body will fly from the Earth at a distance of at least 10 million kilometers, which minimizes the threat to earthlings.
Comet P / 2016 BA14 flying past the Earth (video):
Astronomical phenomena in January of this year are striking in their unusualness and importance. In addition to ordinary meteor showers and a unique parade of planets, we are also waiting for an unusual guest - Comet Catalina. On this occasion, astrologers have their own forecast and their own individual opinion.
What is a comet
Comets are small, not exceeding several tens of kilometers in diameter, nuclei. Roughly speaking, these are huge lumps of dust and ice. According to reputable cosmologists, all known comets come to us from a special Oort cloud located 270 billion kilometers from the Sun. There are comets that a person can see only once in a lifetime, and there are those that arrive every few years.
What is most interesting about these space objects is their tail, which stretches up to 100 thousand kilometers. These are very beautiful celestial bodies, and they are extremely interesting to observe in the night sky, and often this can be done even with the naked eye.
Symbolism of comets: the opinion of astrologers
The opinion of astrologers about comets and about Catalina, which will be visible in telescopes starting around December 7, is rather ambiguous. Comet astrology goes back a lot to the ancient Maya, who paid special attention to these wandering stars. They believed that comets bring misfortune and natural disasters, that is, behind the mask of charm and beauty lies the terrible face of trouble.
The modern view of scientists is a bit similar to the opinion of Maya, but it is more positive and positive. In accordance with the teachings of modern astrologers and their predecessors, comets carry a spark of the new and unknown, but not necessarily negative. This applies primarily to those comets that are clearly visible in the night sky.
Astrologers say that the Catalina comet conflicts with the Fire Monkey, therefore, in some way it neutralizes its action. This means that the new year 2016 will start out a bit calmer. In general, the Stars are in such a position that the comet should not bring trouble this year. The combination of Capricorn and Aquarius translates energy fluctuations in a positive direction.
We remind you that Catalina will be best seen in the night sky on January 17, so it will be possible to observe it with the naked eye in the area of the constellation Ursa Major. We hope that the comet will bring you good luck, wish you a happy January and only positive news. May the comet bring you good luck - be happy and don't forget to press the buttons and
14.01.2016 00:30
The entire Internet is replete with articles about the thirteenth sign of the Zodiac, called Ophiuchus, but Vasilisa Volodina dispelled everything ...
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A pair of comets with very similar orbits are approaching Earth. While both keep a safe distance between each other, one of them has a record close span.
A pair of comets in very close orbits are approaching Earth, and astronomers are preparing to use radio telescopes to get radar images, while advanced amateurs can capture images of each of the comet twins. Comet 252P/LINEAR 12 is already known to pass Earth on March 21, 2016 at a distance of 3,290,000 miles (5.3 million kilometers). This is about 14 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon and, by itself, does not set any records.
Astronomers Matti Knight, Michael C.P. Kelly and Sylvia Protopapa discovered the tail on 2016 BA14 using the Discovery Channel Telescope at the Lowell Observatory. Did comet 252P split in two? We will know about it soon.
Comet P/2016 BA14 (Pan-STARRS) will pass Earth safely on March 22, 2016, coming closer than comet 252P. The flyby of comet P/2016 BA14 will take place at a distance of 2,199,933 miles (3.5 million kilometers), or about 9 lunar distances, which is very close for a comet. In fact, Comet P/2016 BA14 will set the record as the third comet ever to pass close to our planet.
Astronomers have seen many more nearby asteroids at a closer range, but ... comets are another matter. No, there is no danger for our planet, because 9 lunar distances is a very safe distance.
What comet came closest to Earth than any other comet in the history of mankind?
First place goes to comet D/1770 L1 (Lexell). It passed only 5.9 moons in July 1770. This is approximately 1.410.100 miles (2.3 million km). So close that Charles Messier noted that the comet's coma looked roughly like the four visible moons.
According to astronomers' calculations, comet 55P/1366 U1 (Temple-Tuttle) passed Earth in October 1366 at 8.9 lunar distances.
In May 1983 comet C/1983 H1 (IRAS-Araki-Alcock) passed at 12.2 lunar distances. So comet IRAS, which currently ranks third, will soon retire to become the fourth closest comet discovered this year (P/2016 BA14).
Since comet IRAS passed at 12.2 lunar distances, the upcoming P/2016 BA14 flight will be the closest comet in 246 years!
Will it be noticeable?
Comets will look bright as they pass close to the Sun and respond to solar heat. And although comet P/2016 BA14 will pass relatively close to our planet, its close distance to the Sun will make it very dim. So you can't see it with the naked eye. In addition, P/2016 BA14 is a small comet, with a nucleus measuring 1411-1788 feet (430-545 meters) in diameter. If there is no difference in brightness, scientists have calculated that comet P/2016 BA14 should have 12 or 13 stars. led., which means that it can only be captured by large telescopes. The good news is that we will catch a beautiful view with a well-known orbiting telescope. Astronomer Michael Kelly of the University of Maryland said: "We gave Hubble's 6 orbits time to get some high-resolution photos during the close pass."
The comet's relative proximity to our planet will cause images taken by advanced amateurs and observatories to clearly show the movement of the celestial visitor, which moves through space at a speed of 31.345 miles per hour (50445 km / h).
Both comets will also be studied using radio telescopes. From March 20 to March 23, astronomers will send radio signals to Comet P/2016 BA14 using NASA's Goldstone Radar in California. These signals will bounce off the comet's nucleus and travel to the Green Bank radar in West Virginia.
The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has the best "radar view" of comet 252P/LINEAR, and will receive radar images of the celestial visitor April 10-18.
Will Twin Comets Produce Meteors?
Probably not. But some astronomers think there's little chance of seeing a few meteors associated with comet P/2016 BA14 on March 20, 2016. At the same time, its twin 252P/LINEAR will produce several meteors on March 28-30.
Here is a brief overview of comets that were available to small amateur devices. in 2016. It includes all comets brighter than the twelfth magnitude that were observed in the past year. Let's start with a pivot table -
| Designation | Tperig. | q, a.u. | Delta, a.u. | Mmax | Observation period |
| 2016 Apr. twenty | 1.314 | 1.531 | 6.4 | X.2013 - VII.2017 | |
| 2016 March 15 | 0.996 | 0.036 | 4.0 | IX.2015 — VII.2016 | |
| 2016 July 20 | 1.592 | 1.475 | 11.0 | X.2014 - VI.2016 | |
| Aug 2016 2 | 1.542 | 0.979 | 11.0 | XII.2014 — XI.2017 | |
| 333P/LINEAR | 2016 Apr. 3 | 1.115 | 0.527 | 11.5 | XI.2015 — X.2016 |
| C/2015 WZ (PanSTARRS) | 2016 Apr. fifteen | 1.377 | 1.110 | 10.5 | X.2015 — VII.2016 |
| 43P/Wolf-Harrington | 2016 Aug.19 | 1.358 | 1.540* | 11.5 | VII.2015 — VI.2017 |
| C/2016 A8 (LINEAR) | Aug 2016 thirty | 1.881 | 1.039 | 11.9 | I.2016 — XI.2016 |
| 144P/Kushida | Aug 2016 31 | 1.431 | 1.592* | 11.5 | VIII.2016 — V.2017 |
| 237P/LINEAR | 2016 Oct. eleven | 1.985 | 1.395 | 11.5 | III.2016 — XI.2016 |
| P/2003 T12 (SOHO) | 2016 March 9 | 0.577 | 1.327 | 8.0 | II.2016 — V.2016 |
The table gives: Designation, Tperig. is the moment when the comet passes perihelion, q, a.e- perihelion distance in astronomical units, Delta, a.u. is the comet's closest approach to the Earth in AU, M max- maximum brightness in this appearance and Observation period worldwide in month.year format.
Notes: * - the comet approached the minimum distance to the Earth in 2017.
And now some details:
- Comet C/2013 X1 (PANSTARRS) was observed all over the world from October 2013 to July 2017. Of the entire three-year period of observations with small instruments, we had access to the period from November 2015 to early March 2016, when the comet was observed throughout the night, and then in the evenings. The maximum brightness of comet C/2013 X1 (PANSTARRS) was 6.4 magnitude at the end of December. She moved through the constellations of Perseus, Andromeda, Pisces, Andromeda again, Pegasus and again Pisces. The comet was a fairly condensed DC=6-7 object.
I have data for C/2013 X1 (PANSTARRS) here - .
- Comet 252P/LINEAR was observed worldwide from September 2015 to July 2016. The comet passed the perihelion point in mid-March at a distance of about one astronomical unit (q=0.996 AU). This is the third observed appearance of this comet since its discovery in 2000. The comet is short-period with an orbital period of 5.3 years. The maximum brightness - 4.0 magnitude, the comet reached in the twentieth of March, immediately after perihelion. At that time, it approached the Earth at a minimum distance of 0.036 AU. or 5 million 386 thousand kilometers. 252P/LINEAR looked like a rather diffuse object - the maximum degree of condensation was - DC=3. In our latitudes, it could be observed already after the peak of brightness - from the very end of March until the end of June, when its brightness fell to the twelfth magnitude. At this time, she moved through the constellations of Scorpio, Ophiuchus, Serpent, Ophiuchus, Hercules, and then again Ophiuchus. It was visible first in the mornings, then from the beginning of April in the second half of the night, and then during the entire dark time of the day.
I have all the information on this comet by the tag -.
- Another short-period comet that visited us in 2016 is the comet 81P/Vilda 2. This appearance of the comet cannot be called outstanding - at its maximum brightness in the first half of July, it reached only eleventh magnitude. The comet was observed in its seventh appearance since its discovery in 1978. The circulation period of 81P/Wild 2 is about 6 years. It passed the perihelion point in 2016 on July 20 at a distance of 1.59 AU from the Sun. With our small instruments, the comet could be observed from May to the first half of July. Moved through the constellation of Gemini, Cancer and Leo.
81P/Wilda 2 approached the Earth at its minimum distance on January 8 at 1.475 AU. With us it was visible first in the first half of the night, and then in the evenings before sunset.
Information on the comet in my blog -.
- Famous short period comet 9P/Tempel 1 returned to the Sun in 2016 in its 13th observed appearance since Tempel's discovery in Marseille in 1867. Also, 13 appearances of this comet were missed (from 1879 to 1961). The perihelion point 9P/Tempel 1 passed on August 2, 2016 at a distance of 1.5 AU. from the sun. In this worldwide appearance, the comet was observed from December 2014 to November 2017, and peaked at around 11th magnitude in July 2016. We could observe it at this time in the evenings after sunset, not high above the horizon in the constellation Virgo. The comet was a weakly condensed object - the degree of condensation did not exceed 4.
I have data on this comet in the feed -.
- Another short-period comet - 333P/LINEAR observed in its second appearance after discovery in 2007. The period of revolution of this comet around the Sun is 8.7 years. 333P/LINEAR has a strong orbital inclination of 131.9 degrees. The comet passed the perihelion point in this appearance on April 3 at a distance of 1.1 AU. from the sun. It reached its maximum brightness of magnitude 11.5 at the end of March. In our small instruments, a comet could
observe from late February to early March in the first half of the night. 333P / LINEAR moved at this time in the constellation Taurus.
- The next comet of our review C/2015 WZ (PANSTARRS) reached its maximum brightness in late May - early June - about 10.5 magnitude. The comet passed the perihelion point on April 15 at a distance of 1.38 AU. from the sun. The observation period with our small instruments was short - May-June. The comet was observed throughout the night, high above the horizon in the southern side of the sky. It approached the minimum distance to the Earth on June 22 - 1.1 AU. All the time, the comet was a low-condensed object for visual observers - DC did not exceed 3. C / 2015 WZ (PANSTARRS) moved through the constellations of Pegasus, Lizard, Cygnus, Draco and Hercules.
- Comet 43P/Wolf-Harrington observed in its twelfth appearance since its discovery in 1924. Three comet appearances (1932, 1939 and 1945) were missed. The orbital period of 43P/Wolf-Harrington is 6.1 years, the inclination of the orbit is small for comets - 16 degrees. In its current appearance, the comet passed perihelion on August 19 and reached magnitude 11.5 at its maximum brightness in late August-September. The comet was visible in the morning low in the eastern sky in the constellation of Cancer.
- Comet C/2016 A8 (LINEAR) also peaked at the end of August 2016. True, at the peak of its brilliance, the comet was barely visible to small amateur instruments - magnitude 11.9. It also passed the perihelion point at the end of August - on the 30th at a distance of 1.89 AU. from the sun. The comet was observed throughout the night in the south side of the sky high above the horizon. Moved through the constellations Cygnus and Chanterelle.
- The next comet in our review is a comet 144P/Kushida was opened by Yoshio Kushida on January 8, 1994. It turned out to be periodic with a period of 7.6 years and was observed in its fourth appearance in 2016. The comet passed the perihelion point on August 31 at a distance of 1.4 astronomical units from the Sun. The orbital inclination of 144P/Kushida is very small for a comet - 4 degrees. The comet reached its maximum brightness (somewhere around 11.5 magnitude) in autumn - in early September. It could be found in the mornings before sunrise, not high above the horizon in the constellation of Cancer, and then Leo. The degree of condensation of the comet was low - DC = 3.
- Another short-period comet - comet 237P/LINEAR in 2016, it exceeded the limit of the twelfth magnitude in its brightness. The comet was observed in its third appearance since its discovery in 2002 and passed the point of perihelion on October 11 at a distance of 1.98 AU. (this is even beyond the orbit of Mars) from the Sun. It also passed from the Earth at a rather large distance of 1.395 AU. in the beginning of May. It was possible to observe it with small instruments in September-October, when the comet was visible in the evenings immediately after sunset, very low above the horizon. The comet moved through the constellations of Libra, Scorpio and Ophiuchus.
- The last comet of our review - P/2003 T12 (SOHO) this appearance was observed on the cameras of the STEREO spacecraft.