Comet FIVE times the size of Jupiter is set to light up the night skies in April - and it could be brighter than Venus. While a dozen or more comets are visible in most years, the majority are on the dim side, little misty spots of magnitude 11 and fainter. As a result, its brightness dropped … COMET PANSTARRS C/2017 K2 (Perihelion 2022 December 19) Despite being located at a heliocentric distance of 16.1 AU, this comet was clearly active, and a relatively bright 19th to 20th magnitude, when discovered in May 2017. Between January 2013 and December 2100 the closest approach of Comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) to Earth happens on Sat Dec 28 2019 at a distance of 1.93675443 Astronomical Units, or 289,734,339 kilometers: We start the new year with a nice assortment of slightly used comets left over from 2018. It will will continue to be a binocular object and remain well placed … The comet was discovered on December 28, 2019 in the area of Ursa Major Comet 2I/Borisov will reach perihelion on December 8th, and make its closest approach to earth on December 28th. Even more remarkably, in pre-discovery images taken as far back as May 2013, the comet is clearly active even at a heliocentric distance of 23.7 AU. Closest approach of Comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) to Earth. Hubble captures breakup of Comet ATLAS in April 2020. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI and D. Jewitt (UCLA) Unfortunately, in early April the comet fragmented. An Interstellar Comet About to Pass Earth on December 8, 2019. Comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) is currently in the constellation of Crux. 2019 starts off with a pleasing visitor from 2018, namely comet 46P/Wirtanen which reached perihelion, closest approach (and naked eye visibility) in December. A newly discovered comet known as C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) is making its way toward our sun and is rapidly increasing in brightness. The visitor came into the Solar System in August 2019 and reached its closest point to the Sun - perihelion - on December 8 2019, before continuing on its journey. Enjoy them while you can, as 2019 won't be as generous with its comet candy. A depiction of the path of interstellar Comet Borisov, which makes its closest approach to the sun on Dec. 8, 2019. The second is to soar through the earth on December 8 and is named as 2I/Borisov, after the one who saw it first. It may be visible in small telescopes. Right Ascension 12h 50m 56s The comet will continue to through January visible to the naked eye in Camelopardalis before moving in to Ursa Major by which time the comet may no longer visible to the naked eye. The current Right Ascension is 12h 50m 56s and the Declination is -63° 14’ 31”. During the next few months, it brightened so much that astronomers wondered whether it would become visible to the naked eye in May. Comet from another solar system passing through ours and will be near on December 8: Interstellar comets coming to our solar systems are not any daily affairs, and so far, only one has been seen by astronomers ever. Comet ATLAS was discovered on December 28, 2019. For this reason, it earned the moniker of “Christmas Comet.” However, it’s official name, 2I/Borisov, comes from being the second interstellar (2I) comet discovered by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov.