Green Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak is Flying over Earth's North Pole this Weekend

Green comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak is flying over Earth's North Pole this weekend where sky watchers can find it all night long not far from the bowl of the Big Dipper.

At closest approach on April 1st it will be just 21 million km from Earth--an easy target for backyard telescopes and almost visible to the naked eye.

The best time to observe is during the dark hours before sunrise when the comet is high in the northern sky.

Comet 41P is not only approaching Earth, but also the sun. April 12th is the date of perihelion (minimum distance from the sun). This means we are catching the comet just as solar heating is furiously searing its icy core. The green atmosphere should be well puffed up by streamers of vaporizing gas. Optimistic estimates of the comet's brightness place it at magnitude +6, near the lower limit of naked-eye visibility. http://www.spaceweather.com/ Realtime Comet Photo Gallery http://spaceweathergallery.com/comet_gallery.html

Here you can find a short video with the green comet. https://watchers.news/2017/03/30/comet-41p-tuttle-giacobini-kresak-makes-closest-flyby-since-discovery/

Elements and Ephemeris for 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak http://cgi.minorplanetcenter.net/cgi-bin/returnprepeph.cgi?d=c&o=0041P

Clips, images credit: spaceweather.com, ESO, ESA/HUBBLE & NASA