Pilot Mountain State Park Observation for Comet 46/P Wirtanen
Stub Mandrel
Update 12/28: The observation for tomorrow night has been cancelled due to poor weather conditions. The clouds are just going to be too thick and there is a chance for rain during the observation hours. The comet will still be visible for the next week or so, If you find a clear dark night and decent pair of binoculars you can use the attached trajectory map to try and see it on your own. It will be large and a diffuse grayish glob with a slightly brighter core. It’s current apparent size is over twice that of the full moon. Our next observation opportunity will be on January 20th for a total lunar eclipse at Kaleideum North. A more detailed post will come the week or so before.
Saturday December 29th, the Forsyth Astronomical Society will be hosting an observation event in the upper parking area of Pilot Mountain State Park. We will primarily be highlighting bright comet 46/P Wirtanen on it’s exit from the inner solar system. It is currently near constellation Auriga and Lynx. The observation will begin shortly after sunset which is at 5:16 PM. There will be a couple of less prominent comets and other celestial objects we can show until it gets dark enough for our primary target. The weather for Saturday evening is looking iffy, but warmish for Pilot in December. The forecast is for the mid 40’s and intermittently cloudy during our observation period, so check back here and the club’s Facebook page for a final weather call on Friday evening. Hope to see you there!
The track of comet 46P through December 2018. Numbers mark the dates when the comet will appear at those locations.
Sky & Telescope