Introduction

Welcome to the website for the Comet Wirtanen Observing Campaign.

Our intention is to provide a central clearinghouse for basic information regarding comet 46P/Wirtanen (WERE-tuh-nun) and other high profile comets, to encourage and facilitate the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of observations, and to promote collaborations between researchers.

How can I find the comet?

Wirtanen is still at the verge of naked eye brightness (at least at dark sites). One popular question is "Where do I need to look to see it?" Because of the close approach, the comet has rapidly moved from South to North and is still changing its position from day to day. So the best way to figure out where to look is to use our star charts to guide you in using star patterns to find the comet.

Comet Images

We've had a lot of images submitted by observers from all over the world. If you have cloudy skies (or just want to see some great pictures), check them out: AOP Wirtanen Gallery. Images are also available at the Spaceweather.com Gallery or at a number of facebook sites.

Recent Updates   (click for more information)

December 25: Wirtanen in the news

December 21: Radar observations of the nucleus

December 18: Production rates and a changing rotation period?

December 15: Rotational Variability

December 10: Production rates and a diffuse coma

December 8: HCN and Water Production

November 26: Rotation Period and Water Production

October 18: First measurements of Water Production

September 21: Update to Secular lightcurve and good news about Semrock CN filter

September 4: Update to Secular lightcurve and orbital elements

August 14: New image of the comet

July 31: Hold-the-Date announcement of the Mike A'Hearn Symposium

July 26: Update to Secular lightcurve and addition of a list of future close approaches

July 16: Update to Secular lightcurve and orbital elements

June 26: Correction on Wirtanen's recovery

June 26: Currently, Wirtanen seems to be somewhat fainter than expected from pre-recovery predictions

Site Descripition and Navigation

The navigation bar on the left can be used to access campaign pages. Some highlighted links include:

Current Status - Updates and new information about Wirtanen

Observations - Location to view what observations are planned, or submit your own plans

Physical Properties - Some of the known physical properties of comet Wirtanen

2018 Apparition - Why is this apparition historic?

History - Additional background about Wirtanen

Orbit - Information about the comet's orbit

Observing Geometry - Plots showing observing information as a function of time

Proposal Talking Points - Information and text that can be used in observing proposals

Other Observing Campaigns - Links to other objects in the observing campaign

Mailing List

We are maintaining an email list for broadcasting occasional updates regarding the comets' behavior, and for making announcements regarding short-term transient events that might prompt follow-up observations.

If you want to be added to (or removed from ) this list, then send your name, affiliation and email address to the Contact Web Form