In 2017 and 2018, three comets are passing near the Earth, enabling scientists to study them without launching a spacecraft. Their names are 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, and 46P/Wirtanen.
Astronomers call them 41P, 45P, and 46P, for short.
At closest approach on April 1, 41P was only 56 times farther from Earth than the moon. 45P was even closer at 31 lunar distances when it flew by on February 11.
But the comet 46P/Wirtanen might be the biggest attraction to stargazers. It’ll approach within 30 lunar distances of Earth on December 16, 2018 and might – at that time – become visible to the unaided eye from dark sky sites.
Telescopes around the world have been trained on these comets as they’ve passed by, studying their structure and chemical compositions.
Learn more in the video above, and see photos below from the EarthSky community!
This composite image shows the movement of Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova on February 11, 2017. Photos by Chris Plonski in Charlotte, North CarolinaFebruary 7, 2017 photo of Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova by Brian Ottum in Animas, New Mexico.Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova on February 7, 2017 by Abhinav Prakash Dubey in New Delhi, India.Dominique Dierick uploaded this image of Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak to Flickr on March 25, 2017.Avid comet photographer Chris Schur caught Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, too. He wrote: “Seldom does a bright comet (Mv=9) pass right through the bowl of the Big Dipper in Ursa Major.” He reported a “huge teal colored coma and sharp central condensation.”
Bottom line: New NASA ScienceCast about comets passing near Earth in 2017 and 2018.
Eleanor Imster has helped write and edit EarthSky since 1995. She was an integral part of the award-winning EarthSky radio series almost since it began until it ended in 2013. She and her husband live in Tennessee, where they enjoy guitar playing and singing. They have 2 grown sons.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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