How to See the Bright Green Comet 21P in Binoculars on Monday

If you have clear skies, unlike I will have, and have a telescope or binoculars, you will be able to view a green comet called 21p.

Maybe some could share some pics.

Want to see a comet whizzing by Earth? A great chance to catch one of these celestial visitors is overnight tonight, when Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner will be best visible in binoculars or a telescope. The comet, also known as "21P," will make its closest approach to Earth at around 2:30 a.m. EDT Monday (630 GMT). The bright-green comet should reach a visual magnitude of 6.5 to 7, according to EarthSky.org. This makes 21P almost bright enough to see with the naked eye — but not quite. [Bright Comets of 2018: When, Where and How to See Them]

www.space.com...

I would love very much to see people's pics of this event! Thank you Groot for this thread!

I'm afraid Hurricane Florence might be thinking different here in NC.

well i guess im not lucky because it will be early morning here

I've checked with Stellarium, and this comet will present a great binoculars view for several nights to come.

It will pass next to some nice-looking objects over the course of several nights, such as star clusters and nebulae (including Rosetta Nebula), so there's plenty of great astrophoto opportunities.

a reply to: Dr UAE

Its probably going to be cloudy for me, since it has been every time anything celestially interesting has occurred over the last few years.

That being said, I shall keep my peepers peeled.

a reply to: TrueBrit
Haha same here usually!
Not much will beat comets Halley and Hale-Bopp for me though, they were pretty special.

Here's a skymap for location reference, September:

www.skymaps.com...

look to the NE, past Perseus (Auriga not visible in the map due to the early hour)

I am expecting two days of rain here, so I would appreciate seeing members' astro pics of this comet.

A handy finder chart: www.cometwatch.co.uk...

The comet will stay at its current brightness for a few more nights, so fingers crossed for clear skies.

Some images have already been popping up at Space Weather Gallery: spaceweathergallery.com...

It's a beautiful comet.

a reply to: wildespace
Thanks for that
...off-topic, may I ask what your avatar is please? I'm always fscinated when I see it, is it a virus or something?

originally posted by: CornishCeltGuy
a reply to: wildespace
Thanks for that

...off-topic, may I ask what your avatar is please? I'm always fscinated when I see it, is it a virus or something?

It's a protein inside your cells, it's called Kinesin and it transports stuff around your cell so it can function.


www.youtube.com...

OK, I managed to find the comet in my 10x42 binoculars, but only just about. At first I confused the nearby globular star cluster with the comet, because the cluster is much brighter (and looks like a fuzzy blob), and the comet looks much dimmer. Lots of averted vision was used to confirm it's there.

So I wouldn't get too excited if I were you, it's a relatively dim comet, at least as seen from light-polluted skies. Comet Lovejoy a few years back looked much brighter.

Anyhoo, that was a nice and productive stargazing session, as I also had a look at the Orion Nebula, the Andromeda galaxy, the Pleiades star cluster, and a few other things, along with spotting the International Space Station sailing overhead.

P.S. latest image, coemt seen next to that star cluster:


spaceweathergallery.com...

Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner with nebulae IC443 (the Jellyfish nebula), NGC2174 and star cluster M35: spaceweathergallery.com...

a reply to: Groot

Nice article. But. The comet was last week.

Look up with binoculars early tomorrow morning (Sept. 10) to spot Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner whizzing across the sky. Here, astrophotographer Alexander Vasenin caught a photo of the comet from Moscow Oblast, Russia, on Aug. 18, 2018.

I don't know if it's still visible.

Another one due Dec 16.

originally posted by: blackcrowe
a reply to: Groot

Nice article. But. The comet was last week.

Look up with binoculars early tomorrow morning (Sept. 10) to spot Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner whizzing across the sky. Here, astrophotographer Alexander Vasenin caught a photo of the comet from Moscow Oblast, Russia, on Aug. 18, 2018.

I don't know if it's still visible.

Another one due Dec 16.

Comets don't appear for just one or two days, they're visible for weeks with magnitude gradually increasing and decreasing. If you've got a large pair of binoculars or a telescope, and dark skies, you can still see it.

a reply to: wildespace

Hence why i said STILL VISIBLE.

I was pointing out that the link is a week out of date.

Comet is a week further away now.

But thanks for pointing that out.