Comet 46P/ Wirtanen is at it’s closest to Earth this weekend.
It’s supposed to be naked eye, but I’ve so far failed to see it without optical aid. It is now easily visible in 10×50 binoculars. The Coma is a bit bigger than the apparent size of the full Moon. In 15×70 binoculars the full extent of the coma can be seen and it is HUGE!
Despite what the popular media say, it’s not going to be spectacular, or dazzling.
This weekend it will be conveniently located smack bang between the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters in Taurus, so will be fairly high up in the sky late evening.
To make the most of this opportunity to see it before the Moon gets even brighter, free maps of it’s position are available to download from my Web site:
http://www.star-gazing.co.uk/WebPage/comet-46p
Enjoy!
Dave
Comet 46P – 13th December 2018.
72mm refractor and Nikon D750 DSLR.
