Comet 13P/Olbers Returns to Inner Solar System: Last Seen in Year 1956

Comet 13P/Olbers Returns to Inner Solar System: Last Seen in Year 1956

  

Comet 13P/Olbers is returning to the inner Solar System after 68 years. This periodic, Halley-type comet will reach its next perihelion or closest approach to the Sun on June 30, 2024. It can be viewed with binoculars in the night sky of planet Earth's northern hemisphere. 

This sharp telescopic image of 13P is composed of stacked exposures made on the night of June 25. It easily reveals shifting details in the bright comet's torn and tattered ion tail buffeted by the wind from an active Sun, along with a broad, fanned-out dust tail and slightly greenish coma. The frame spans over two degrees across a background of faint stars toward the constellation Lynx.

13P/Olbers fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet with a period between 20 and 200 years. This comet was last seen in 1956. German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers discovered this comet on March 6, 1815.

Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett

Dan's website: https://www.astrobin.com/users/h2ologg/

Release Date: June 28, 2024

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