Comet 220P/McNaught has already put on an unexpectedly impressive show this summer as two dramatic outbursts of activity caused it to shine 20,000 times brighter than usual. Here's how you can spot the icy interloper before it fades in the coming weeks.
Comet 220P/McNaught orbits the sun once every 5.5-years. It reached perihelion — its closest point to the sun — on June 14. Solar heating typically increases cometary activity by causing volatile ices to turn directly into gas, releasing dust that reflects sunlight.
The comet's most recent perihelion passage was accompanied by two dramatic outbursts that saw its brightness jump to 20,000 times its usual level, making the ordinarily dim comet temporarily visible to stargazers using binoculars, telescopes, or cameras.
Comet 220P/McNaught is expected to dim significantly as it travels farther away from the sun, though it's possible that another outburst could see its brightness increase once more in the coming weeks!
McNaught's has a current brightness, or magnitude of +9.2 according to the Comet Observation Database run by the Crni Vern observatory. That would make it a challenge to spot with a pair of binoculars under less than perfect conditions, but puts it within reach of small telescopes under dark skies, where it mayappear as a faint, diffuse patch against the background stars.
Where can I find Comet 220P/McNaught in early September?
Look east around midnight local time to find the stars of the constellation Taurus rising into the late summer sky. Next, identify the "V" formation of the Hyades open star cluster shining at the heart of the constellation. Comet McNaught can be found close to the magnitude 3.59 binary star system Omicron Tauri, two stars out from the point of the stellar "V".
Comet McNaught will become easier to spot in the dark nights surrounding the new moon phase on Sept. 10-11, which will also present a perfect opportunity for . It'll also make for long- exposure photography.
Osama Fathi captured a gorgeous photo of Comet McNaught shining in the skies above Egypt as a lone Perseid blazed earthward on Aug. 15.
"I spent nearly two hours imaging the comet and the real surprise came when a meteor crossed very close to it in one frame — a wonderful and unexpected moment," Fathi told Space.com in an email. "Comets are exciting because of their unpredictability and I hope 220P continues to surprise observers with changes in its brightness and activity in the coming weeks."
Astrophotographer Dan Bartlett, meanwhile, created this breathtakingly detailed mosaic of Comet McNaught's journey through the constellation Cetus as the icy wanderer glowed in the skies over June Lake, California. The mosaic captures the comet's evolution from Aug. 6-26 as its coma and tail transformed in the wake of its Aug. 5 outburst.
Interested in capturing your own photo of Comet McNaught? Then be sure to read our guide to photographing solar system comets, along with our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography.
Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
