Space and astronomy news
Discovered early this year, Comet C/2023 H2 Lemmon may approach naked eye brightness this month.
A comet discovered earlier this year is performing above expectations, and is currently well-placed in the dusk sky. We’re talking about Comet C/2023 H2 Lemmon, moving up the charts now at magnitude +8 and brightening.
Continue reading “Comet H2 Lemmon Brightens in Early November Ahead of Expectations”
Catch periodic cosmic interloper 103P Hartley while you can.
Periodic comets are like old friends, back for a visit. We have a get together with just such a denizen of the cometary league, as Comet 103P Hartley makes a favorable apparition in late 2023.
Continue reading “Follow the Fall 2023 Return of Comet 103P Hartley”
Now’s the time to catch periodic Comet 96P Machholz on its encore dawn performance, before it slides out of view.
So, have you been following the touted ‘green comet,’ E3 ZTF? To be sure, it’s nothing more than a fuzzy patch, a binocular comet sliding through the constellation Auriga looking like a globular cluster that refuses to resolve into focus. Though E3 ZTF may not live up to the hype, it does have one thing going for it: it is currently well-placed for northern hemisphere viewers. It also put on a great show for astrophotographers as it recently completed an orbital plane-crossing, as seen from our Earthly vantage point.
Continue reading “Check Out This Great View of Comet 96P Machholz, Courtesy of SOHO”
The first good comet of the year, Comet E3 ZTF is a fine object for northern hemisphere observers in January.
As in years previous, 2023 kicks of with another decent binocular comet.
If you haven’t seen C/2022 E3 ZTF yet, you’ll soon have your chance. Discovered by the Zwicky Transient Survey searching for supernovae, E3 ZTF was first spotted as a +17th magnitude object gliding through the constellation of Aquila the Eagle on the night of March 2nd, 2022.
Continue reading “Comet E3 ZTF Brightens as the First Good Comet of 2023”