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

Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) reaches peak brightness

Dominic Ford, Editor
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Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) is forecast to reach the brightest point in its 2026 apparition on 25 January. At that time, it will lie at a distance of 0.58 AU from the Sun, and at a distance of 1.26 AU from the Earth.

From Cambridge on 25 January it will not be readily observable since it will lie so far south that it will never rise more than 5° above the horizon.

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The events that comprise the 2025–2026 apparition of C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) are as follows:

Date Event
20 Jan 2026Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) passes perihelion
25 Jan 2026Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) reaches peak brightness
17 Feb 2026Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) passes perigee

The table below lists the times when C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) will be visible from Cambridge day-by-day through its apparition:

Date Constellation Comet visibility
04 Jan 2026SagittariusNot observable
06 Jan 2026SagittariusNot observable
08 Jan 2026SagittariusNot observable
10 Jan 2026SagittariusNot observable
12 Jan 2026SagittariusNot observable
14 Jan 2026SagittariusNot observable
16 Jan 2026SagittariusNot observable
18 Jan 2026MicroscopiumNot observable
20 Jan 2026MicroscopiumNot observable
22 Jan 2026MicroscopiumNot observable
24 Jan 2026MicroscopiumNot observable
26 Jan 2026GrusNot observable
28 Jan 2026GrusNot observable
30 Jan 2026GrusNot observable
01 Feb 2026GrusNot observable
03 Feb 2026GrusNot observable
05 Feb 2026GrusNot observable
07 Feb 2026PhoenixNot observable
09 Feb 2026SculptorNot observable
11 Feb 2026SculptorNot observable
13 Feb 2026SculptorNot observable

A more detailed table of C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos)'s position on each night is available here. A diagram of the orbit of C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) is available here.

Finder chart

The chart below shows the path of C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) 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 7 on 25 January 2026. This estimate is based on observations that the BAA has received from amateur astronomers, assuming that its current level of activity will remain constant.

This comet is not expected to be visible to the naked eye, but might be visible through bird-watching binoculars.

The comet's position on 25 January 2026 will be:

Object Right Ascension Declination Constellation Magnitude
Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) 21h28m00s 42°05'S Grus 6.8

The coordinates are given in J2000.0.

The sky on 25 Jan 2026

The sky on 25 January 2026
Sunrise
07:02
Sunset
16:48
Twilight ends
18:26
Twilight begins
05:24

7-day old moon
Waxing Crescent

49%

7 days old

Planets
Rise Culm. Set
Mercury 07:23 12:08 16:53
Venus 07:24 12:15 17:05
Moon 10:13 17:16 00:34
Mars 06:57 11:40 16:22
Jupiter 15:06 22:39 06:12
Saturn 09:26 15:18 21:11
All times shown in EST.

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 03 Jun 2025.

Image credit

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

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Cambridge

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42.38°N
71.11°W
EDT

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