By Dan Hicks

Comet 13P/Olbers is a steadily dimming 7.3 magnitude 69-year periodic “countryside binocular comet” exiting the inner solar system on a parabolic trajectory which will take it out to a distance beyond the orbit of outermost planet Neptune, its June 29 perihelion and July 19 closest approach to our own Planet Earth now in its rearview mirror.

Though a charted challenge to behold alongside the “Three Leaps of the Gazelle” asterism within the Ursa Major constellation (see chart below), I met 13P on midnight of July 8 at Wycliffe (July 9, 00:00 MDT).

Lead image: Comet 13P Olbers in Lynx constellation, Dan Bartlett, June 25, 2024. NASA Astronomical Picture of Day – June 28 2024. nasa.gov

Article Share