© Andy Roberts 1997. Pictured comet is C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp.

Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) passes perihelion

Dominic Ford, Editor
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Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) will make its closest approach to the Sun on 7 January, at a distance of 0.16 AU.

From Cambridge on the day of perihelion it will not be readily observable since it will be very close to the Sun, at a separation of only 5° from it.

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The events that comprise the 2006–2007 apparition of C/2006 P1 (McNaught) are as follows:

Date Event
07 Jan 2007Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) passes perihelion
09 Jan 2007Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) passes perigee

The table below lists the times when C/2006 P1 (McNaught) will be visible from Cambridge day-by-day through its apparition:

Date Constellation Comet visibility
17 Dec 2006OphiuchusNot observable
19 Dec 2006OphiuchusNot observable
21 Dec 2006Serpens CaudaNot observable
23 Dec 2006Serpens CaudaNot observable
25 Dec 2006Serpens CaudaNot observable
27 Dec 2006ScutumNot observable
29 Dec 2006ScutumNot observable
31 Dec 2006ScutumNot observable
02 Jan 2007ScutumNot observable
04 Jan 2007AquilaNot observable
06 Jan 2007SagittariusNot observable
08 Jan 2007SagittariusNot observable
10 Jan 2007SagittariusNot observable
12 Jan 2007SagittariusNot observable
14 Jan 2007SagittariusNot observable
16 Jan 2007SagittariusNot observable
18 Jan 2007TelescopiumNot observable
20 Jan 2007TelescopiumNot observable
22 Jan 2007TelescopiumNot observable
24 Jan 2007IndusNot observable
26 Jan 2007IndusNot observable

A more detailed table of C/2006 P1 (McNaught)'s position on each night is available here. A diagram of the orbit of C/2006 P1 (McNaught) is available here.

Finder chart

The chart below shows the path of C/2006 P1 (McNaught) over the course of its apparition, as calculated from the orbital elements published by the Minor Planet Center (MPC). It is available for download, either on dark background, in PNG, PDF or SVG formats, or on a light background, in PNG, PDF or SVG formats. It was produced using StarCharter.

Comet brightnesses

Comets are intrinsically highly unpredictable objects, since their brightness depends on the scattering of sunlight from dust particles in the comet's coma and tail. This dust is continually streaming away from the comet's nucleus, and its density at any particular time is governed by the rate of sublimation of the ice in the comet's nucleus, as it is heated by the Sun's rays. It also depends on the amount of dust that is mixed in with that ice. This is very difficult to predict in advance, and can be highly variable even between successive apparitions of the same comet.

In consequence, while the future positions of comets are usually known with a high degree of confidence, their future brightnesses are not. For most comets, we do not publish any magnitude estimates at all. For the few comets where we do make estimates, we generally prefer the BAA's magnitude parameters to those published by the Minor Planet Center, since they are typically updated more often.

No estimate for the brightness of comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) is currently available.

The comet's position at perihelion will be:

Object Right Ascension Declination Constellation Magnitude
Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) 19h27m50s 17°37'S Sagittarius -3.6

The coordinates are given in J2000.0.

The sky on 14 Mar 2025

The sky on 14 March 2025
Sunrise
06:55
Sunset
18:49
Twilight ends
20:23
Twilight begins
05:21

14-day old moon
Waning Gibbous

99%

14 days old

Planets
Rise Culm. Set
Mercury 07:15 13:42 20:10
Venus 06:44 13:27 20:09
Moon 18:25 00:49 07:01
Mars 12:49 20:35 04:21
Jupiter 10:30 18:00 01:31
Saturn 07:02 12:47 18:32
All times shown in EDT.

Warning

Never attempt to point a pair of binoculars or a telescope at an object close to the Sun. Doing so may result in immediate and permanent blindness.

Source

This event was automatically generated on the basis of orbital elements published by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) , and is updated whenever new elements become available. It was last updated on 23 Feb 2025.

Image credit

© Andy Roberts 1997. Pictured comet is C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp.

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Cambridge

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Longitude:
Timezone:

42.38°N
71.11°W
EDT

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