Comet Swan graces our evening skies over the coming weeks presenting us with a real opportunity to witness a comet first-hand. Argus columnist Jon Powell explains how to spot it.
BEST described as a huge dirty snowball, Comet Swan's name is taken from the Solar Wind Anisotropies instrument on the ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observer (SOHO) space observatory.
Discovered in April by astronomer Michael Mattiazzo from Australia who was looking at the images captured by the space observatory, this cosmic wanderer has a tail that stretches for 11 miles.
On view over in the west after sunset, Swan is speeding along at approximately 139,000 mph.
Comet Swan
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How to spot Comet Swan
Position yourself with the best view possible of the western horizon.
Use Venus as your starting point so that you know you are looking in the right direction.
Venus is the first bright object to be seen in the west after sunset.
You will then need to locate the star Capella, a bright yellow star low on the horizon over to the right from Venus.
Comet Swan's trajectory through the night sky
With the aid of the map, slowly trace your way over from Capella to find Comet Swan.
Whereas the comet isn't quite naked-eye it will be easily visible in a pair of 10x50 binoculars or above, or a small telescope.
However, binoculars will give you the edge, allowing you to sweep the horizon more freely.
Finally, have patience. Depending on your location, street and house lighting may be an issue, potentially offering a lot of glare.
Add in the evening twilight, and it's not a easy task.
What you should be looking for is a haze of light, a fuzzy patch.
I realise that doesn't sound much, but it's worth watching for.
Remember, this comet was last sighted around the time of the last Ice Age.
I wonder just who will see it next time around in 12,000 years?
- For Comet Swan's trajectory in our Solar System: https://spacein3d.com/asteroid/swan
- For Comet Swan's position in the night sky: https://theskylive.com/where-is-c2020f8
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