{"id":54178,"date":"2024-01-22T13:41:22","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T13:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7db0529d-06d3-4c93-92a4-419c1a168d3e"},"modified":"2024-01-22T15:32:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T15:32:32","slug":"comet-144p-kushida-crosses-the-hyades-cluster-in-february","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/comet-144p-kushida-crosses-the-hyades-cluster-in-february\/","title":{"rendered":"Comet 144P\/Kushida crosses the Hyades cluster in February"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spot 144P\/Kushida pass through the famous star cluster in Taurus as the comet makes its seven-yearly visit. <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Monday, 22 January 2024 at 13:41 PM<\/p>

\n\n

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

The comet is ninth-magnitude in February, making it a good target for a small telescope or larger-format binoculars, and as a special treat will pass by the Hyades star cluster<\/a>.<\/p>

Comet 144P\/Kushida is especially well placed for Northern Hemisphere observation and is easy to locate for the first third of February as it passes through Taurus<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>

Find out what comets and asteroids are in the sky tonight<\/a> and discover the brightest comets to see in 2024<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Comet 144P\/Kushida captured on 31 December 2023 by Gregg Ruppel (greggsastronomy.com). Equipment: STL11000M with AstroDon Gen II filters, ASA 10N f\/3.7 on AP900GTO CP3<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Comet 144P\/Kushida in February<\/strong><\/h2>
On the night of **1\/2 February<\/strong>, 144P\/Kushida is located 2.5\u00b0 west of mag. 3.7 Gamma (\u03b3) Tauri, the star at the pointed end of the \u2018V\u2019 shape formed by the main stars in the Hyades.<\/p>**
**The Hyades represents the face of Taurus the Bull, Gamma Tauri marking the position of the Bull\u2019s nose.<\/p>**
**This position also places the comet just shy of 10\u00b0 southeast of Alcyone (Eta (\u03b7) Tauri), which is at the heart of the** **Pleiades open cluster<\/a>.<\/p>**
$\"A$
A wide-angle shot of the Pleiades (top) and Hyades (bottom) in February will capture Comet 144P\/Kushida Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
As a consequence, a wide-angle photograph that contains both clusters will also contain the comet.\u00a0<\/p>
On **1 February<\/strong>, 144P\/Kushida is expected to shine with an integrated magnitude of 9.1, its brightest for the month.<\/p>**
**By the end of February it\u2019s expected to have faded to mag. 9.9, which is still pretty decent and well within small telescope range.<\/p>**
In the days after 1 February<\/strong>, the comet approaches Gamma Tauri, passing 0.3\u00b0 north of the star on 4\/5 February. It then trundles along the southern arm of the Hyades \u2018V\u2019 shape, passing 13 arcminutes north of Theta^{1<\/sup> (\u03b8^{1<\/sup>) Tauri, the northernmost star of naked-eye double Theta (\u03b8) Tauri, on the night of 7\/8 February.<\/p>}}
**$\"A$** A close look at 144P\/Kushida\u2019s path through the Hyades, with positions correct for 20:00 UT on the dates shown. Comet\u2019s appearance exaggerated for clarity. Click on the chart to zoom in. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
On the nights of **9\/10 and 10\/11 February<\/strong>, 144P\/Kushida passes very close to mag. 0.9 Aldebaran (Alpha (\u03b1) Tauri).<\/p>**
The comet is predicted to be around mag. 9.3 at this time, and if it shows the characteristic green coma colour often seen with comets, this should provide good colour contrast with the striking orange hue of **Aldebaran<\/a>.<\/p>**
The closest approach to Aldebaran occurs around 15:00 UT on **10 February<\/strong>, when the comet misses the star by just 8 arcminutes.\u00a0<\/p>**
**$\"Chart$** Chart showing the location of Comet 144P\/Kushida throughout February and March 2024. Click on the chart to zoom in. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
During this period, the Moon will be conveniently out of the way, only making its presence known on **13\u201326 February<\/strong>.<\/p>**
**Consequently, 144P\/Kushida\u2019s best visibility in terms of sky darkness occurs in the first half of February when the comet is expected to be at its brightest for the month.<\/p>**
**Throughout the remainder of February, 144P\/Kushida tracks along a path that takes it more or less parallel to the southern boundary between Taurus and Orion.\u00a0<\/p>**
**$\"Comet$** Comet 144P\/Kusida’s closest approach to Aldebaran occurs around 15:00 UT on 10 February. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**Comet 144P\/Kushida in January<\/strong><\/h2>**The comet passes along a track from southern Aries at the start of January towards the Hyades<\/a> in Taurus<\/a> by the end.<\/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>**
**$\"Chart$** 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>
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 chart 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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