Icy Solar System Comet C/2024 E1 (Vierzkos) is scheduled to make its closest approach to Earth tomorrow (February 17), an event known to astronomers as perigee. However, the ability to see the ancient wanderer depends entirely on your location and equipment.
comet Vielxos flyby earth On February 17, the icy object will glide 94 million miles (151 million kilometers) from Blue Marble. This is approximately the same distance between the Earth and the sun. This comet poses no threat to our Earth.
Can you see Comet C/2024 E1 (Vierzkos)?
The current brightness of Comet Wierzkos is sizeapproximately +8.2, which is beyond the reach of the naked eye. For context, you can spot an object with a brightness of +6.5 with the naked eye from a dark sky location. The lower the number, the brighter the object.
If the comet had been in a favorable position, stargazers might have been able to spot it as a faint speck of light through binoculars or a backyard telescope. Sadly, Comet Wiertzkos will pass through the southern constellation Draco on February 17, appearing less than 20 degrees above the southwest horizon (about the width of two fists at arm’s length) at sunset for U.S. observers, and quickly disappearing from view.
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Each subsequent night, the comet is observed slightly higher above the horizon at sunset. By early March, it will enter the faint constellation Eridanus (“Milky Way”) and reach a more favorable altitude in the sky after sunset. By then, its brightness will likely have dimmed beyond +8 as it moves further away from the Sun. Comet observation database COBS, operated by Slovenia’s Crni Vrh observatory, would be bright enough to be a telescope target.
Stargazers looking to upgrade their gear should read our recommendations. best telescope and Binoculars for exploring the night skyphotographers read our article. Wandering comet photography guideWith a summary of top camera and astrophotography lens.