Recently Discovered Comet Iwamoto (C/2018 Y1) Passes Close To Earth On 02/12

Thought this was an interesting story. A comet that was discovered by a Japanese astronomer in Dec. 2018, will pass closest to the Earth on February 12, 2019, at around 3:10 p.m. ET. This sucker is fast...it's traveling at 147,948 miles per hour! According to the following article, it will be tough to see with your eyes, but can be easily seen with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope.

A new celestial visitor – a comet – was discovered by Japanese astronomer Masayuki Iwamoto in late 2018.

This comet is fast! Comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) is traveling through space at the amazing speed of 147,948 miles per hour (238,099 km/h) or 66 km per second, relative to Earth.

The best nights for observing the comet (with binoculars and small telescopes) should be on February 11 and 12, but is already visible with optical aid. Recent estimates suggest the newly found comet might reach a brightness or magnitude between 6.5 and 7.5 , which means it should be easily seen with small telescopes and binoculars. It will not be visible to the eye alone.

earthsky.org...


The comet offers an exquisite sight shortly after nightfall on Wednesday, February 13, 2019. Comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) will pass very close to NGC 2903, a beautiful galaxy in Leo. Although the encounter’s timing favors observers in Europe and Africa, sky enthusiasts in America will also see the comet passing close to the galaxy, if they have their telescopes ready at nightfall.



Cool video footage of Comet Iwamoto made by amateur astronomer Michael Jäger at his private observatory in Jauerling, Austria:
www.spaceweather.com...

This comet won't be coming back anytime soon, so if you want to catch a glimpse of it, you might want to break out your binoculars or telescope on Monday or Tuesday.

Comet Iwamoto doesn't visit us very often. Following a highly elliptical 1371-year orbit, its last passage through the inner solar system was around 648 AD (unrecorded), and its next won't happen until 3390 AD. Therefore, if you want to see the comet, now is the time to look.

www.spaceweather.com...

I'll to to catch it in my binos.

Such comets are fairly hard to see, though. What we need is a great comet like Hale-Bopp.

a reply to: wildespace

Nah, it's the ones that are hard to see that are the most fun. Like Elenin. Good times.