Love is in the skies: Comet Iwamoto to pass Earth for Valentine’s Day

A small periodic comet will pass by the Earth soon!

Sky watchers, get set for Comet Iwamoto (C 2018 Y1), as it passes within 27,000,000 miles of Earth this week.

Comet Iwamoto was discovered by Japanese observer Masayuki Iwamoto back on Dec. 18, as a very faint and diffuse object in the southern constellation of Hydra.

As with many comets, you need a clear and moonless sky and a decent pair or binoculars, as well as a telescope.

This week offers us a decent chance to view this object!

The comet will be moving into the star fields of Leo the Lion by Thursday and possibly be at the limit of naked eye visibility. That translates into a visual magnitude of at least plus-6.

Comets are the remains of the creation of the solar system, thought to be at least 4.5 billion years old and may still have some of the original organic material of life as we know it.

All throughout history, comets have been looked at with great interest and at times, thought of as a sign of impending doom!

Modern science tells a much different story, as comets are some of the most amazing objects for astronomers to study.

Comets are some of the fastest objects in the solar system and have a rocky ice nucleus which can range in size from a mile or so in diameter, to upwards of 25 miles.

Over the years, I have been following dozens of comets and can tell you from personal experience that a pair of decent binoculars are probably the best tool to have, to locate and follow these types of objects.

Comet Iwamoto comes from the deep Kuiper belt, a region in the solar system which is some 5 times the distance of Pluto. This is a region thought to have the last remnants of the creation of the solar system.

The comet is currently located in the constellation of Leo the Lion and is highest around 1:30 a.m. Mountain Time in the south.

As I mentioned before, a pair of binoculars is required to see it and a telescope would help improve your chances of seeing it too!

With an orbital period of some 1,371 years, the comet passed us by in the year 648 AD and if you miss it this time, it will return in the year 3390 AD.

Here is a direct link to help you locate the comet and track it in real time, as well as locate many other related objects in our February skies.

On a final note, observers looking to see a great planetary conjunction should begin to look into the southeast sky just before dawn, as the bright planet Venus will pair up with the mighty planet Saturn.

They will embrace in a loving way, just after Valentine’s Day, as they appear within a degree of separation on the morning of Feb. 19 — don’t miss it!

To print your own monthly star chart, click here.

To view satellites/dates/times of passage, click here.

Listen to the Dr. Sky Show on KTAR News 92.3 FM every Saturday morning at 3 a.m.