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This month, a periodic return comet called 21P / Giacobini-Zinner will be bright enough to be seen in binoculars and small telescopes. It should continue to clear until the morning of September 10, when it will fall within 36.3 million miles (58.5 million kilometers) of the Earth around it.
Sometimes, if its orbit is right, a comet will seem to pass close to the big stars in the sky, which will facilitate the search for the object by non-experts. And, better still, comets occasionally pass near positions in the sky of distant objects of the deep sky. This creates spectacular telescope views and wide-field shooting possibilities for tripod-mounted cameras or close-up views with DSLR cameras attached to tracking telescopes. [Amazing Photos of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner and Comet 46P/Wirtanen]
Fortunately for us, comet 21P's journey will take her along the Milky Way, setting up a series of spectacular encounters in September and October. And many of the best will happen when the moon is not very bright, as is the case this week.
In this edition of Mobile Stargazing, we'll show you how to use your favorite astronomy app to track down Comet 21P. We will also present a chronology of events that will allow you to see or photograph the comet in a picturesque setting.
And Comet 21P will be just a warm up. Astronomers are eagerly anticipating the arrival later this year of another even brighter comet: the 41P / Wirtanen.
Comet 21P / Giacobini-Zinner is located in the northeastern sky and is visible in the northern and southern hemispheres. He gets up in the late evening and is carried higher up in the sky as the night progresses. At present, the brightness of the comet is about 7.5 and observers from the sky have easily spotted it with binoculars in dark places. [Bright Comets of 2018: When, Where and How to See Them]
The orbit of this comet is inclined 32 degrees to the plane of our solar system. Instead of moving eastward like the moon and the planets, it follows a southward path to the northern hemisphere. From here on September 13, the comet will cross the roughly circular Auriga constellation. After that, 21P will move through the feet of Gemini's western twin, Castor, for a few nights, then follow the boundary between Orion and Gemini until September 22nd.
The comet will end in September following the milky way, crossing the modest constellation of Monoceros, more or less to the very bright star Sirius. Then 21P will spend the month of October on the eastern edge of Canis Major. It is not known how long the comet will remain a target for binoculars, but telescope users with tracking capability should be able to find and visualize 21P for the next two months.
You can use your astronomy application to view the path of a comet in the sky. In the versions of the SkySafari Plus app and Pro, use the search option, select the comet and press the Center Icon Info Page. Open the Settings / Solar System menu and check the Path box of the selected object. The sky will now include the path of the comet, with graduation marks to a day apart. You can also advance to future dates and see where the comet will be at a given date and time. [Best Binoculars for Earth and Sky]
Below you will find a timeline of meetings for Comet 21P up until the end of October. The times and locations are based on the currently predicted orbit of the comet and are likely to change. Applications such as SkySafari 6 for Android and iOS will update the orbital settings as they change.
You can preview each meeting by setting your app to the appropriate date and then selecting and centering the comet on the screen. Configure the app's visual field of view to include part of the surrounding sky. As the comet will move quickly, its distance from objects will vary depending on which part of the world you are watching. Adjust the time towards the front or back in your application to determine the best time to see each association at your location.
The comet will be observable worldwide, from mid-south latitudes to the Arctic, but air observers from the southern hemisphere will have to wait until the hours before dawn for the comet rises high enough to be seen clearly. In the descriptions, I indicate the optimal display time for the Eastern time zone and the corresponding Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) time. The comet will not be high enough for observers to observe until midnight, so that the events on the list occur in the early morning on the date indicated, ie after midnight at previous date. I've included screenshots to illustrate the encounters.
I have provided the suggested observation tools for each encounter. Direction indications "left and right" and "up and down" are for observers in the northern hemisphere. Reverse those if you look south from the equator.
September 8th after midnight EDT (after 05:00 GMT) – The comet will pass 2.5 degrees west (left) from two bright and open star clusters in Auriga designated Messier 38 and Messier 36 (use binoculars).
September 9 to 10 – During these nights, the comet will pass between the bright stars Mahasim (Theta Aurigae) and Elnath (Beta Aurigae) while heading south (down). The object will be a little closer to Mahasim, the dimmer, star left (use binoculars).
September 10 – On September 10, the comet will reach its closest point to the sun and the Earth. Around this date, we hope the object will reach a visual brightness of around 7.0.
September 10 to 11 – On those nights, the comet will pass in front of the open-star group named Messier 37, spending only 10 minutes arc (or a third of the diameter of the full moon) of the group at 10 am GMT on the 10th September. Observers in Asia and Oceania will see the objects close together. Most of the Western Hemisphere will have to be content to see the comet at 1 degree of cluster every night (better seen in a telescope).
September 15th – Around 6 am in the eastern time zone (1000 GMT), the comet will slide directly through the open star designated Messier 35 (use a telescope).
September 16th – During the night, the comet will approach the bright star Propus (Eta Geminorum), passing to 0.5 degrees west (top right) of the star just before the day. ;dawn. The Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) will be in the field of view of the low-power telescope. The closest approach to Propus will take place around 1500 GMT, and the event is visible only for Skywatchers in Asia and Oceania (use binoculars or a telescope). [Best Telescopes for the Money: 2018 Reviews and Guide]
Sept. 17 – In the early hours of September 17, the comet will be positioned below Propus and roughly halfway between the bright star Tejat (Mu Geminorum) and NGC 2174, also known as the Nebula of the monkey's head. The comet and the nebula will appear together in the field of view of a low-power telescope.
September 23 – The comet will begin to cross the plane of our galaxy. During this night, the comet will pass close to a collection of deep sky objects in the northern Monoceros, including star clusters and nebulae referred to as NGC 2247, NGC 2245, IC 2167 , IC 2169 and NGC 2259 (use a telescope). Note: The almost full moon will erase the sky a bit for this meeting.
September 24 – That night, the comet will pass about 1 degree east (right) of NGC 2264, also known as the Christmas tree cluster. Both objects will enter the field of view of a telescope. The next night, the nebula will always be within 2 degrees of the comet. Note: The full moon will clear the sky a bit for this meeting.
September 26 – Look for the comet sitting 3 degrees northeast (left) of the dramatic combination of star clusters and nebulae known as the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2244) in the monoceros. This pairing will be an excellent opportunity to photograph on a large field and see binoculars. Note that the waning full moon will wash the sky a bit for this encounter.
October 7 to 8 – On these dates, the comet will pass in front of the group of open stars designated Messier 50 south of Monoceros. The closest approach, with the comet flying over the periphery of the cluster, will be at 7:00 GMT on September 7 – an event visible only in Asia and Oceania. North American observers will see the comet positioned about 0.5 degrees from the cluster these two mornings (first above and then below). (Use binoculars or a telescope.)
October 9 to 10 – During these two mornings in the hours before dawn, the comet will pass the brilliant nebula of the Seagull (IC 2177) and then descend through the wide and weak reflection nebula called IC 2327. Other objects Nearby will include star clusters NGC 2335 and NGC 2343. This will be another great-field shooting opportunity, as well as a visible view using binoculars and d & # 39; a telescope.
At the end of October, astronomers expect comet 21P / Giacobini-Zinner to disappear under the beach where the binoculars can find it easily. In the meantime, GoTo tracking telescope users can continue to follow the comet as it passes Thor's hammer nebula (NGC 2359) on Oct. 13, Caroline's Cluster (NGC 2360) Oct. 15, bunch Charlie Brown Christmas Tree (NGC 2367). ) October 22nd and more. Use your astronomy application to preview all dates and mark your calendars for the events you want to watch or photograph.
Comet 46P / Wirtanen is another periodic comet eagerly awaited. It will turn around the sun on December 12, 2018. This, seen under a dark sky, should reach a magnitude of 3 to the naked eye around December 16. when the object will pass closest to the Earth.
At this moment, the comet is in Cetus, located on the southern horizon after midnight local time – tickling the belly of this whale-shaped constellation. At the end of November, the comet will begin to climb the southern sky and enter the south-west of Taurus around the time of perihelion. This means that the object will be perfectly placed to be seen in the middle of the evening!
Let's keep our fingers crossed so that Comet Wirtanen lives up to expectations. In the meantime, you can practice your comet observation on the comet Giacobini-Zinner. If you're capturing images of any of the comet's encounters, be sure to share them with Space.com.
In future editions of mobile astronomy, we will show how the constellations will be different in the future, how to use mobile applications to plan and record astronomical observations, and so on. Until then, keep looking!
Editor's note: Chris Vaughan is a specialist in astronomy education and public awareness at AstroGeo, a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and operator of the 1.88-meter (74-inch) historic David Dunlap telescope . You can reach him by email and follow him on Twitter @astrogeoguy, as well as on Facebook and Tumblr.
This article was provided by Simulation Curriculum, the leader in space science program solutions and the creator of the SkySafari app for Android and iOS. Follow SkySafari on Twitter @SkySafariAstro. Follow us, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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