Comets in 2014

On February 24, 1916, George van Biesbroeck (Yerkes Observatory) spotted a comet with an apparent magnitude of 11. It was a Jupiter-Family comet with an orbit of 5.43 years. This comet has not been observed since its apparition in 1927. Due to its disappearance, it's known as 25D / Nuejmin 2, meaning it's a "lost" comet.

Over the course of 42 hours in October of 2007, Comet Holmes (17P/Holmes) became a half million times brighter on its way to becoming the largest object in the solar system - larger than the Sun, or Brad Pitt's ego, if only for a brief time. Holmes is one of the more prominent comets in 2014.

Russian astronomer, Mikhail Maslov, believes Earth will pass through the tail of Comet 209P / LINEAR between 7:00 and 8:00 UT on May 24, 2014. It could result in a meteor storm producing between 100 and 400 meteors an hour. Viewing conditions will be particular good in Canada and the United States. Circle this date on your calendar.

Comey Faye (4P/Faye) was discovered in 1844 by a French astronomer. It was the first periodic comet to be named after its discoverer and not the individual who determined its orbit. This comet will reach perihelion a couple days after Comet Holmes in 2014.

The fragmentation of Comet Brooks 2 is believed to have been caused by a close pass to Jupiter in 1886, when it passed .001 AU from Jupiter. The gravity of the planet tore the comet into fragments. The fragmented comet was observed for the first time, in recorded history, three years later on July 7, 1889.

On November 28, 1819 Jean-Jacques Blanpain discovered a comet. It was designated C / 1819 W1. After this apparition the comet was "lost" and remained unobserved for nearly 200 years. In 2005, a recently discovered asteroid matched the orbital path and period of C/1819 W1. It also had a faint coma, meaning it probably was an nearly-exhausted comet. The object was officially renamed Comet 289P / Blanpain in July of 2013.

There is currently a 1 and 120,000 chance that Comet Siding Spring (C/2013 A1) will hit Mars on October 19, 2014. Based on Leonid Elenin's recent observations, Comet Siding Spring will pass 0.000276 AU (41,300 km, 25,700 miles) from the surface of Mars. For comparison, the average distance between the Earth and Moon is .00257 AU (384,400 km, 238,900 miles).

On October 27, 2060 Comet Finlay will pass 0.048 AU from Earth (JPL, 2014). That's the equivalent of 4,500,000 miles or 7,200,000 kilometers. For reference, the average distance between Earth and the Moon is 0.002 AU.

Dozens of tiny, sungrazing comets are expected to return to tightly orbit the Sun in 2014 or end their lives in its corona. These comets will probably only be observable from space observatories like SOHO and LASCO. The general public can comb through movies and images captured by SOHO, attempting to discover comets in 2014.