May 2006

Comet's Close Approach

Comet 73P Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is set to make a particularly close apporach to the Earth this weekend. On the evening of May 7th/8th, the largest fragment of the comet, which has broken into several pieces, will pass by the Ring Nebula in Lyra making an interesting photo opportunity.

At its closest, the comet will come within approximately 0.07 AU of the Earth - about 10 Million km. Although not particularly large, the comet should brighten to around magnitude 6 or 7, making it an easy binocular object, and possibly just visible to the naked eye.

Images from Mallorca Planetarium and Observatory

SkyNews Article and finder chart

Sky map from Spaceweather.com

Detailed finder charts from the SPA

NASA image of comet breaking into fragments

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