Four Stunning Comets are Racing Through the Inner Solar System Right Now – Eyes On The Skies

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  Four bright comets are racing through the inner solar system right now, and they are all relatively easy to see with binoculars. Backyard astronomers around the world have been keeping tabs on these space intruders as they approach the sun, and some of the comets show tantalizing signs that they will soon brighten to at or near naked-eye levels. Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4) continues to shed fragments while slowly fading and becoming more diffuse. But it ain’t dead yet! Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) is presently 8th magnitude, compact, and brightening steadily as it plows across Piscis Austrinus at dawn for Southern Hemisphere observers. Soon it will swing northward, making its first appearance in Aquarius at 7th magnitude for southern U.S. observers by month’s end. On May 12 it will be closest to Earth at a safe distance of about 83.3 million km (51.7 million miles). Perihelion occurs on May 27th at a distance of 64.3 million kilometers (39.9 million miles). A second ATLAS comet has shown remarkable staying power. Discovered on December 16, 2019, Comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y1) began life as an 18th magnitude blip. It gradually brightened to around magnitude 8.2 by mid- April. Closest approach to Earth at 1.1 AU occurs on May 3rd. Perihelion occurred on March 15th. Comet PanSTARRS (C/2017 T2) is currently in the constellation Camelopardalis. Its latest observed magnitude is 8.4. From dark skies it’s relatively easy to see in small telescopes and binoculars. Like comet Atlas Y4 and comet ATLAS Y1, COMET PanSTARRS is a circumpolar object and visible all night long from mid-northern latitudes. For more info visit: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy…

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