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

Comet C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz) passes perihelion

Dominic Ford, Editor
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Comet C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz) will make its closest approach to the Sun on 30 May, at a distance of 1.12 AU.

From Ashburn on the day of perihelion it will not be observable – it will reach its highest point in the sky during daytime and will be no higher than 10° above the horizon at dusk.

Begin typing the name of a town near to you, and then select the town from the list of options which appear below.

The events that comprise the 2024 apparition of C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz) are as follows:

Date Event
30 May 2024Comet C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz) passes perihelion

The table below lists the times when C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz) will be visible from Ashburn day-by-day through its apparition:

Date Constellation Comet visibility
09 May 2024PerseusNot observable
11 May 2024PerseusNot observable
13 May 2024PerseusNot observable
15 May 2024PerseusNot observable
17 May 2024PerseusNot observable
19 May 2024PerseusNot observable
21 May 2024PerseusNot observable
23 May 2024PerseusNot observable
25 May 2024PerseusNot observable
27 May 2024AurigaNot observable
29 May 2024AurigaNot observable
31 May 2024AurigaNot observable
02 Jun 2024AurigaNot observable
04 Jun 2024AurigaNot observable
06 Jun 2024AurigaNot observable
08 Jun 2024AurigaNot observable
10 Jun 2024AurigaNot observable
12 Jun 2024AurigaNot observable
14 Jun 2024LynxNot observable
16 Jun 2024LynxNot observable
18 Jun 2024LynxNot observable

A more detailed table of C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz)'s position on each night is available here. A diagram of the orbit of C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz) is available here.

Finder chart

The chart below shows the path of C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz) 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.

Based on the magnitude parameters published for this comet by the BAA Comet Section, we estimate that it may be around mag 10 on 30 May 2024. This estimate is based on observations that the BAA has received from amateur astronomers, assuming that its current level of activity will remain constant.

You will probably require a telescope to see this comet. It is unlikely to be visible through bird-watching binoculars, and even less likely to be visible to the unaided eye.

The comet's position at perihelion will be:

Object Right Ascension Declination Constellation Magnitude
Comet C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz) 05h00m00s 47°17'N Auriga 10.5

The coordinates are given in J2000.0.

The sky on 30 May 2024

The sky on 30 May 2024
Sunrise
05:44
Sunset
20:28
Twilight ends
22:23
Twilight begins
03:49

22-day old moon
Waning Crescent

44%

22 days old

Planets
Rise Culm. Set
Mercury 04:58 11:58 18:58
Venus 05:42 13:00 20:17
Moon 01:45 07:11 12:46
Mars 03:32 10:00 16:28
Jupiter 05:19 12:30 19:40
Saturn 02:13 07:56 13:38
All times shown in EDT.

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 16 Sep 2024.

Image credit

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

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Ashburn

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Longitude:
Timezone:

39.04°N
77.49°W
EDT

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