Can you see the comet named SWAN? The answer is, with luck, maybe. If we wish to see Comet SWAN, we’ll want some clear nights coming in the next week or so. Here’s a chart with hand-drawn positions of C/2020 F8 (SWAN) over the next month. June 2 would be our best opportunity as the comet will be highest above the horizon and near the star Capella, which will help in finding it. Getting the timing right will be challenging, between twilight fading enough for the faint object to be seen and spotting it before the comet sets! You’ll still need good binoculars to see this one and a clear view to the northwestern horizon. Place your order now for clear skies to be delivered the night of June 2 … DO IT NOW! Supplies are limited.
Comet SWAN has been a Southern Hemisphere object until just recently. I’ve heard some people here, up north, have caught glimpses of the comet already though it’s so low to the horizon that, even with clear skies, by the time the sky gets dark in the northwest, the comet is setting! And as the days and weeks pass, the progression of the starry background takes everything closer to the horizon — or you could think of the horizon rising, when looking at a chart. Add to that the fact that days are getting longer, sunset and twilight later, the comet lower… ugh! It seems everything’s a race! By mid-June Comet SWAN will be lost in bright twilight.
Comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) was officially discovered March 25 of this year. It will make its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) on May 27 when it will be 64 million kilometers from our star. Officially classified C/2020 F8 (SWAN) the new comet was first spotted by Australian amateur astronomer Michael Mattiazzo on April 11 using data from the Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) instrument aboard the NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) recorded on March 25.
If you spot SWAN, please let us know! Good luck!
Postscript….
Comets, being temperamental beasts, don’t always act as we’d expect or hope. Most of the time comets gain brightness as they draw nearer the sun; Comet SWAN has been dimming! I’d seen earlier mentions but this Sky & Telescope article just came out today… HUMBUG!
Stephens Memorial Observatory 