The events that comprise the 2024 apparition of 46P/Wirtanen are as
follows:

The table below lists the times when 46P/Wirtanen will be visible from
Los Angeles day-by-day through its apparition:

A more detailed table of 46P/Wirtanen’s position on each night is
available here.

A diagram of the orbit of 46P/Wirtanen is
available here.

Finder chart

The chart below shows the path of 46P/Wirtanen over the
course of its apparition, as calculated from the orbital elements published by the
Minor Planet Center (MPC).

It is available for download, either on dark background, in
PNG,
PDF or
SVG formats,
or on a light background, in
PNG,
PDF or
SVG formats.

It was produced using
StarCharter.

Comet brightnesses

Comets are intrinsically highly unpredictable objects, since their brightness depends on the scattering of
sunlight from dust particles in the comet’s coma and tail. This dust is continually streaming away from the
comet’s nucleus, and its density at any particular time is governed by the rate of sublimation of the ice in
the comet’s nucleus, as it is heated by the Sun’s rays. It also depends on the amount of dust that is mixed
in
with that ice. This is very difficult to predict in advance, and can be highly variable even between
successive
apparitions of the same comet.

In consequence, while the future positions of comets are usually known with a high degree of confidence,
their future brightnesses are not. For most comets, we do not publish any magnitude estimates at all. For
the few comets where we do make estimates, we generally prefer the BAA’s magnitude parameters to those published
by the Minor Planet Center, since they are typically updated more often.

Based on the magnitude parameters published for this comet by the
BAA Comet Section,
we estimate that it may be around
mag 10 on 19 May 2024.
This estimate is based on observations that the BAA has received from amateur astronomers, assuming that its
current level of activity will remain constant.

You will probably require a telescope to see this comet. It is unlikely to be
visible through bird-watching binoculars, and even less likely to be visible
to the unaided eye.

The comet’s position at perihelion will be:

The coordinates are given in J2000.0.

The sky on 19 May 2024

Warning

Never attempt to point a pair of binoculars or a telescope at an object close to the Sun. Doing so
may result in immediate and permanent blindness.

Source

This event was automatically generated on the basis of orbital elements
published by the

Minor Planet Center (MPC)
,
and is updated whenever new elements become available. It was last updated
on 27 Apr 2024.

Image credit

© Andy Roberts 1997. Pictured comet is C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp.