* Astronomy

Comet That Took a Century to Confirm Passes by Earth

On April 1, 2017, comet 41P will pass closer than it normally does to Earth, giving observers with binoculars or a telescope a special viewing opportunity. Comet hunters in the Northern Hemisphere should look for it near the constellations Draco and Ursa Major, which the Big Dipper is part of.
Officially named 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák to honour its three discoverers, the comet is being playfully called the April Fool's Day comet on this pass. Discovery credit goes first to Horace Tuttle, who spotted the comet in 1858. According to the Cometography website, 41P was recognized at the time as a periodic comet - one that orbits the sun - but astronomers initially were uncertain how long the comet needed to make the trip. The comet was rediscovered in 1907 by Michael Giacobini but not immediately linked to the object seen in 1858.
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Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak was too faint to capture.

The 1400 metre wide comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak will make a close pass (55.3 LD, 0.1420 AU) in the constellation Draco, travelling at 8.61 km/second, to the Earth-Moon system on the 1st April 2017 @ 00:53 UT ±00:01. 

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The Lunar Distance (LD), the distance between Earth and the Moon, equals 384,401 km, (or 0.00256 AU).

Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak is at Opposition (4.116 AU) on the 21st October 2014

Ephemeris

Date    TT    R. A. (2000) Decl.     Delta      r    Elong.  Phase   Mag
2014 10 20    01 55 55.0 +00 40 59   4.1165  5.0989   169.5     2.0
2014 10 21    01 55 15.2 +00 36 58   4.1160  5.0983   169.5     2.0
2014 10 22    01 54 35.4 +00 32 59   4.1160  5.0977   169.4     2.1
2014 10 23    01 53 55.5 +00 29 04   4.1162  5.0970   169.2     2.1
2014 10 24    01 53 15.6 +00 25 11   4.1167  5.0964   168.8     2.2
2014 10 25    01 52 35.7 +00 21 21   4.1176  5.0958   168.4     2.3
2014 10 26    01 51 55.8 +00 17 34   4.1188  5.0951   167.8     2.4
2014 10 27    01 51 16.0 +00 13 51   4.1203  5.0944   167.2     2.5
2014 10 28    01 50 36.3 +00 10 11   4.1222  5.0938   166.5     2.6
2014 10 29    01 49 56.8 +00 06 34   4.1243  5.0931   165.7     2.8
2014 10 30    01 49 17.3 +00 03 01   4.1268  5.0924   164.9     2.9
2014 10 31    01 48 38.0 -00 00 28   4.1296  5.0917   164.1     3.1