• Ray Ewing

Comet and Mars

Tomorrow night a comet will appear in close proximity to the red planet Mars. The comet known as the "Green Comet," has a scientific name C/2022 E3 ZTF and has been watched by astronomers for months. Unfortunately, it is extremely faint. It is too dim to see even with binoculars for many.

You have a chance to see it if you have powerful binoculars and or at least a small telescope. Look in the area close to the red planet Mars, now in the zodiacal constellation Taurus, almost directly overhead around 8 p.m.

In addition to being difficult to see, lighting has been an encumbrance. A brilliant gibbous moon will rising in the east and it will make the overall sky too bright. So look before the moon gets to high in the East.

A full moon in the past week has been troublesome too.

Faint comets are hard to observe. Even among amateur astronomers, comets like this are a challenge unless one has a current star chart with the comet depicted amid nearby stars. There are a number of sources on the Internet which will help. Tomorrow night will be perfect, with Mars marking the site. Only requirement is clear dark skies and one needs a powerful pair of binoculars. If you see it, the comet will look like a fuzzy faint dim star with not much color.

Sunrise and Sunset
Day Sunrise Sunset
Fri., Feb. 10 6:44 5:08
Sat., Feb. 11 6:42 5:09
Sun., Feb. 12 6:41 5:10
Mon., Feb. 13 6:40 5:12
Tues., Feb. 14 6:38 5:13
Wed., Feb. 15 6:37 5:14
Thurs., Feb. 16 6:36 5:15
Fri., Feb. 17 6:34 5:17
Temperatures and Precipitations
Day Max (Fº) Min (Fº) Inches
Feb. 3 38 28 0.00
Feb. 4 29 -5 0.00
Feb. 5 44 -4 0.00
Feb. 6 49 40 0.00
Feb. 7 45 30 0.00
Feb. 8 44 30 0.10
Feb. 9 50 28 0.00

 

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 39º F

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