A new comet was discovered last month by Ari Heinze at the University of Hawaii. He used a pair of 20-inch telescopes that are part of the ATLAS project (Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System), which is designed to spot dangerous asteroids headed towards Earth.
When first discovered, the object was a dim smudge in the constellation Hydra. Once it was tracked and its orbit determined, it was found to be a comet on a very steeply tilted path. Its orbit is titled 96 degrees to the Earth's. This means the comet is coming up from the southern hemisphere and will pass up and over the Earth's orbit as it approaches the sun.
Named after its discoverer, Comet Heinze is not a danger to us but will pass by Earth on Jan. 4 at a distance of about 20 million miles. It is a small comet so it is not expected to be luminous, but it could be as bright as 9th magnitude, which should bring it within range of small telescopes and binoculars.
Comet Heinze (C/2017 T1) begins slowly, but rapidly accelerates across the sky come mid-December. The comet should be a good target for small scopes from then through late February.
You don't have to wait until January to view it. Toward the end of the year, the comet will pass near the twin stars of Gemini and through the very faint constellations Lynx and Camelopardalis, not far from the bright star Capella. Then in early January, when it is closest to Earth, it is in Cassiopeia.
At that point, it will be in the sky all night - a nice, if small, celestial treat for the new year.
Kevin D. Conod is the planetarium manager and astronomer at the Newark Museum's Dreyfuss Planetarium. For updates on the night sky, call the Newark Skyline at (973) 596-6529.