Comet 24P/Schaumasse will reach its minimum distance from Earth today and will be visible in amateur telescopes, TASS was told by Nikolai Zheleznov, senior researcher at the Institute of Applied Astronomy (IAA) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
On January 4, the comet will be approximately 88.76 million kilometers from Earth. This is absolutely safe for the inhabitants of our planet.
The object will have an eighth magnitude, which is about five times fainter than the human eye can see, so observation will require a telescope.
The astronomer recommended observing the comet outside the city, away from urban light pollution, and noted that the optimal time for observations is the second half of the night.
On January 8, 24P/Schaumasse will pass perihelion, the closest point to the Sun in its orbit.
