Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 49

DAMIAN PEACH
Catch Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan
THE CURRENT APPARITION of Comet
62P/Tsuchinshan is a favorable one, with
the icy object well placed for viewing
from midnight until dawn as it crosses
from Leo into eastern Virgo during January,
as shown in the chart below.
The comet is unusual in at least one
regard - it's named after a place rather
than a person. It was discovered on
January 1, 1965, at Purple Mountain
Observatory in Nanjing, China - the
name " Tsuchinshan " meaning " Purple
Mountain " in Mandarin Chinese.
Early this month the comet should
be close to its peak brightness of
magnitude 7, having passed perihelion
on December 25th. A pair of 50-mm
binoculars should suffice to coax it into
view a few degrees south of Denebola -
Beta (β) Leonis - in Leo's tail. The best
observing window in January occurs
4293
24
12h 30m
4394
4450
4340
4350
M100
4419
M91
4571
4477
4473
M90
M89
M58
4550
4564
4568 4567
4461
4438
M87
4478
4503
4429
Feb 31 29 27 25 23
2
4442
4417
ο
4535
4526
4570
π
4261
ν
2
Star magnitudes
3
4 5 6 7 8 9
+6°
sk yand tele scope .o r g * JANUARY 2024 49
M49
4365
4 ξ
ω
+8°
VIRGO
3705
17
21 19 4178
4124
15
4435 M86
M84
4388
5
7
4371
13
11
9
3810
ι
+10°
4267
M88
4459
4298
M99
4212
4216
4168
3
Jan 1,
2024
LEO
COMA BERENICES
6
M98
Denebola
β
+14°
Dec 30,
2023
+12°
95
3681
+16°
M85
11
12h 20m
during the Moonless stretch from
roughly the 5th to the 22nd.
Observers with 6-inch or larger
telescopes should see a bright, round
coma and possibly a short tail pointing
east. By month's end the comet will
have faded about one magnitude. From
mid- to late-January, 62P/Tsuchinshan
sashays across the Virgo Galaxy Cluster,
creating several opportunities for astrophotographers
to frame the fuzzy visitor
with a variety of galaxies.
The comet cycles around the Sun
every 6.2 years and this time swings
closest to Earth on January 29th, at a
distance of less than 75 million kilometers
(47 million miles). Recent close
encounters with Jupiter have reduced its
perihelion distance from 1.5 a.u. to 1.3
a.u., which could spark more activity
than usual this apparition.
4147
12h 10m
4064
12h 00m
11h 50m
11h 40m
11h 30m
3686
3684
3655
+18°
Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan glides by a pair of
galaxies in Virgo on December 13, 2017, during
its last apparition. On that passage, the comet
brightened to around magnitude 9 and developed
a short tail.
Path of Comet 62P/Tsuchinshan

http://skyandtelescope.org

Sky & Telescope - January 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - January 2024

Contents
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - Cover1
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - Cover2
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 1
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - Contents
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 3
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 4
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 5
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 6
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 7
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 8
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 9
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Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 49
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Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 83
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - 84
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - Cover3
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - Cover4
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - SA1
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - SA2
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - SA3
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - SA4
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - SA5
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - SA6
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Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - SA8
Sky & Telescope - January 2024 - SA9
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