![]() Image: Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) by Lionel Majzik, Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021 At this time of the year it will be within the constellation of Leo, but with a predicted maximum magnitude of 9 you’ll be unable to see this with the naked eye. There might be other opportunities to spot comets with a pair of binoculars or a telescope later in the year.įor example, 62P/Tsuchinshan will be approaching the Sun in late 2023, with its closest approach to the Sun on 24 December, and its closest point to the Earth on 30 January 2024. As this is a long-period comet with a 50,000-year orbit, this is your only chance to catch it! Even if it’s only visible with binoculars or a telescope, you should definitely get out and try and spot it if you can. However brightness estimates vary, and comet viewing is always unpredictable - some think it could be visible to the naked eye! This would mean it has a magnitude of around +6, about the absolute limit the human eye can see. At its brightest in our skies this comet still probably won’t be as impressive as comet Neowise, and you’ll need a very dark sky to spot it. ![]() Images taken so far showcase its eery green glow, a product of UV radiation from the Sun illuminating the gases sublimating from the comet’s surface. It will be at its closest approach to the Sun on the 12 January, and then at its closest approach to the Earth on 1 February (at this point it’s still over 40 million km away!)Ĭ/2022 E3 (ZTF) is already bright enough to be visible through a telescope, and it will be getting brighter throughout the month. This comet was discovered in March 2022 by the Zwicky Transient Facility, which regularly scans the sky and compares the images to spot anything that has changed- for example supernovae, or variable stars, or approaching comets!Ĭ/2022 E3 (ZTF) is coming into the inner Solar System, towards the Sun. ![]() There’s a possibility of another comet appearance this January, with the somewhat less catchily named C/2022 E3 (ZTF) approaching us this month. Keen sky watchers might remember the appearance of comet Neowise in our skies back in the summer of 2020. In and around these times, Venus will be easily visible as an evening and morning “star” respectively.įor a greater challenge, try looking for Mercury’s greatest elongations: western (and therefore seen in the morning) around the 30 January, 29 May and 22 September and eastern (seen in the evening) around 11 April, 10 August and 4 December.Īs with any observation close to the Sun, make certain you don’t look directly at the Sun and, if observing with a telescope or pair of binoculars, wait until after sunset or before sunrise to avoid accidentally pointing them at it. ![]() Venus will reach its greatest eastern elongation around 4 June and its greatest western elongation around 23 October. This is the time when each planet is furthest from the Sun, and therefore more likely to still be above the horizon when the blinding Sun has set. If you’d like to see these rocky worlds for yourself, your best bet is to wait for their greatest elongation. This is especially true for Mercury, which is smaller, fainter and closer to the Sun than Venus. While both Venus and Mercury are bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye, with both being closer to the Sun than the Earth is, they rarely get far from it in the sky – making them difficult or even dangerous to see at times. See the inner planets of the solar system (Venus and Mercury)
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