View at EarthSky Community Photo. | Comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto), the colorful blue-green dot – captured at its brightest and closest to Earth on the morning of February 12, 2019 – from Indian Fields, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia. Photo by Barry Burgess. Thank you, Barry!View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Joel Weatherly in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada caught this wide view of the comet near the stars Regulus and Algieba in the constellation Leo. He wrote: “I caught a glimpse of comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) on the evening of February 12, not long after its closest pass by Earth at some 45 million km away. It was a bit chilly out (-32°C), and my camera was struggling with the cold.” Thank you, Joel.View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Comet Iwamoto was heading for the Sickle of Leo – a backwards question mark pattern – when caught by Dr. Ski in the Philippines on the morning of February 11. At closest approach, the comet will be in front of Leo, visible late night to dawn now.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Fast-moving comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto as captured in 20 50-second images, stacked, by Alan Forsyth in Cowal, Argyll, Scotland. “This fast comet can sure shift through the skies in the 20 minutes of this combined exposure!” he wrote. Photo taken February 10. On Tuesday night, when the comet is closest to Earth at 28 million miles away, its movement will be even more noticeable.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Comet Iwamoto as captured by Shlomo Shalev from Vancouver Island, Canada, on February 9, 2019.View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Emilio Lepeley in Elqui Valley, Vicuna, Chile caught comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) – the green fuzzball at bottom center – on February 3, 2019, in the same field of view as the famous Sombrero Galaxy. Thank you, Emilio!Green comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) is seen here as it was passing close to the Sombrero galaxy (Messier 104) on February 3, 2019. The galaxy is at the bottom of this image by Rolando Ligustri. Thank you, Rolando.Comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) looks great in this image taken on January 17, 2019, by Rolando Ligustri.
Bottom line: Photos of comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) from the EarthSky Community.
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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