New comet SWAN25B already bright but near the sun

New Comet SWAN25B soars into the sky

There’s a new comet in the sky, although, as of Friday morning, it was not yet officially confirmed. The SWAN (Solar Wind Anisotropies) instrument on the SOHO spacecraft detected the relatively bright comet. It’s currently shining at around magnitude 7.4. That’s bright enough to detect using binoculars, or even just a camera with a 200-mm lens.

Right now the comet appears among the background stars of the constellation Virgo. Its trajectory is currently under analysis. But, at the moment, it’s best positioned for observers in the Southern Hemisphere. Because it’s so close to the sun, it will be tricky to spot. Look west after sunset in the direction where the sun has just disappeared. If you can find Mars, the comet is currently just below Mars. You’ll want to use optical aid.

The reported exact location in the sky at discovery was right ascension (RA) 13 08.5 and declination (DEC) -09 10.

As of Friday morning, the Minor Planet Center was still processing the information for the comet, which will likely be named Comet SWAN25B.

Observations of the new comet

Comet hunter Vladimir Bezugly detected the new comet in recent SWAN images. Meanwhile, comet astrophotographers are capturing nice images of the new celestial visitor. Comet expert Michael Mattiazzo said:

I was able to visually see it this morning (September 12) using 15 x 70 binoculars from Australia.

Martin Mašek of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, at the Cherenkov Telescope Array site near Cerro Paranal, also confirmed the new comet on the ICQ Comet Observations Facebook page. Mašek said:

I was very pleasantly surprised by such a bright comet with a long tail. I originally expected to be searching for a small, faint patch.

So why haven’t we seen this bright comet before now? The new comet was apparently behind, or too close to the area where we see the sun, and perhaps has appeared just after its perihelion. However, scientists are still comparing observations of the comet to determine its exact trajectory.

This is a developing story, so stay tuned for updates!

Bottom line: A new comet is now visible not far from the setting sun. Comet SWAN25B is already bright, though its location will make it a challenge to observe.

The post New comet SWAN25B already bright but near the sun first appeared on EarthSky.