12/8/2023 0 Comments Comet 45p honda skychartNot only that, but the comet wasn't as bright as expected. Things quickly improve later in the week as 45P rapidly gains altitude as the Moon rises later and later.Ĥ5P/H-M-P got a lot of hype last week unfortunately, the bright Moon put the kibosh on viewing such a diffuse object for small scope and binocular users. Depending on your latitude, you might get as little as 10 minutes up to a half hour of dark sky. On the evening of February 14th, the comet will stand about 10° high in the northeastern sky just before moonrise. Lucky for us, it's been traveling west towards evening, while the Moon's been moving east. That's why, starting tonight, 45P/H-M-P will once again be visible in a moonless sky. When it passed only 7.7 million miles above our rooftops on February 11th, the green blob briefly sped across the sky at up to 9° a day. It's rare for a comet to transition from pre-dawn object to evening target in only six days, but 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova's proximity to Earth made all the difference. The coma appeared diffuse with a brighter center. Scroll down to see the radar image.Ĭhris Schur of Payson, Arizona, took this portrait of 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova on the last moonless morning (February 8th). It's only the seventh comet to be imaged using radar because comets rarely come close enough to Earth. Even better, it's up by 10 o'clock! Update (February 15, 2017): Arecibo Observatory has captured radar images of Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova. After battling moonlight, Comet 45P/H-M-P returns for a final go-round in dark skies.
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