What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! We've got the Geminid Meteor Shower and Comet 46P/Wirtanen in the sky right now . The Geminids should provide a really good sky show and the comet is visible in dark skies. Here are my pics of the comet from a suburban location in Central Virginia taken last night. The green color and the movement of the comet against the background stars can be easily seen. I hope your skies are clear to see these two celestial spectacles..... Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! There is a comet that may be visible to the unaided eye from dark sky sites in the South after dark. It covers an area of the sky as large as the Full Moon but is dim. This comet does not have a huge tail or  is as conspicuous as Hale-Bopp in 1997. It is still worth looking for in the next few days before the Moon returns to the evening sky and makes the sky bright thereby negating being able to probably see it. I have had cloudy weather for the past 2 weeks so I am hoping for a chance to see & photograph it. Here are two links for you to read about 46P and both have finder charts to help you zero in on this green visitor. http://spaceweather.com https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/comet-46p-wirtanen-approaches-earth/?k=X2eLNeXTAu0pdXJ%2B6SJFkgjffbPJdBb2myBdgtfo4Cg%3D&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=sky-jma-nl-181130%0D&cid=DM88427&bid=879599199 Sky Guy in VA