{"id":52972,"date":"2024-01-01T08:05:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T08:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7db0529d-06d3-4c93-92a4-419c1a168d3e"},"modified":"2024-01-01T09:32:31","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T09:32:31","slug":"see-comet-144p-kushida-in-the-sky-this-month","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/see-comet-144p-kushida-in-the-sky-this-month\/","title":{"rendered":"See Comet 144P\/Kushida in the sky this month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spot 144P\/Kushida with binoculars as the comet makes its seven-yearly visit. <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Monday, 01 January 2024 at 08:05 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Comet 144P\/Kushida is well placed for Northern Hemisphere viewing in January 2024, with the best time to see it being 1\u201318 and 28 January into early February<\/p>

The comet will pass along a track from southern Aries at the start of the month towards the Hyades<\/a> in Taurus<\/a> by the end.<\/p>

Comet Kushida is a ninth-magnitude object that is best seen through a small or larger telescope.<\/p>

In this guide we’ll reveal key dates for spotting Comet 144P\/Kushida, with charts to help you track it in the sky throughout the month.<\/p>

Find out what comets and asteroids are in the sky tonight<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Chart showing the path of Comet 144P\/Kushida at the start of 2024. Click on the chart to zoom in. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Comet Kushida key dates<\/strong><\/h2>

A poor start to 2024 in terms of the planets is offset by a good display of bright comets.<\/p>

That is, comets that are brighter than, or on the threshold of, binocular observation. An excellent example is 144P\/Kushida.<\/p>

On 1 January<\/strong>, 144P\/Kushida sits 2\u00b0 to the south of mag. 5.8 Uranus, a situation that provides a good navigational guide for finding the comet<\/a>.<\/p>

Over the following days, 144P\/Kushida heads east, passing 5\u00b0 north of the pair of stars Xi (\u03be) and Omicron (\u03bf) Tauri on 11\u201314 January<\/strong>.<\/p>

On 11 January<\/strong> Comet Kushida crosses from Aries into Taurus, then heads directly for the point of the V-shaped Hyades open cluster, marked by Gamma (\u03b3) Tauri.\u00a0<\/p>

From 21 to 31 January<\/strong>, 144P\/Kushida passes 9\u00b0 south of the Pleiades<\/a> open cluster as it approaches the Hyades.<\/p>

A wide-angle photo of the region will prove interesting, especially if you record the comet over several days and combine the images to show how it moves through the scene.<\/p>

For more advice, read our guide on how to photograph a comet<\/a>.<\/p>

The next perihelion date for 144P\/Kushida will be on 25 January<\/strong> 2024, when it is expected to brighten to around ninth magnitude.<\/p>

\"Chart
Chart showing the path of Comet 144P\/Kushida in January and February 2024. Click on the image to zoom in. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Comet Kushida and the Moon<\/strong><\/h2>

The enemy of diffuse objects like comets is the natural light pollution created by the Moon.<\/p>

The first new Moon of 2024 occurs on 11 January<\/strong>.<\/p>

Viewing from early evening 1 January until 18 January<\/strong> will give you dark, moonless skies in which to enjoy the Comet 144P\/Kushida.<\/p>

The Moon then causes a nuisance as it passes through the region where the comet is located, its full phase occurring on 25 January<\/strong>.<\/p>

Consequently, the period from 19 to 27 January<\/strong> will be problematic in terms of observing comet Kushida.<\/p>

From 28 January into early February<\/strong>, early evening dark skies will once again form an excellent window through which to view 144P\/Kushida.<\/p>

Facts about Comet Kushida<\/strong><\/h2>

Comet 144P\/Kushida was discovered by Yoshio Kushida at the Yatsugatake South Base Observatory on 8 January 1994.<\/p>

It was the first comet discovery of 1994 and the second comet discovery by Kushida in the space of one month.<\/p>

It was recorded on film using a 100mm f\/4.0 telescope.\u00a0<\/p>

Initial observations were used by Japanese astronomer Shuichi Nakano to compute an orbit which showed a perihelion on 5 December 1993, when the comet passed 1.36 AU from the Sun.<\/p>

A low inclination orbit of 4.11\u00b0 to the plane of the Solar System suggested it was a short-period comet. <\/p>

It\u2019s now known to have a 7.37-year orbit.<\/p>

As its prefix identifier suggests, it was the 144th comet to have its periodic orbit determined.\u00a0<\/p>

At aphelion, 144P\/Kushida moves to a position beyond the orbit of Jupiter, 6.28 AU from the Sun.<\/p>

This distance indicates that this comet belongs to the Jupiter family of comets.<\/p>

This is a family of comets that exhibit orbits with less than 20-year periods, have low orbital inclinations and are influenced by the gravity of Jupiter.<\/p>

Around 800 such comets are known.<\/p>

Have you managed to observe or photograph Comet 144P\/Kushida? Let us know by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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