Sunday, 16 December 2018

Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma Mag 6.98 in December sky

South Africa
38P/Stephan-Oterma passed perihelion in early November. In mid December this comet will pass within 0.8 AU of the earth. It is predicted to reach maximum brightness of magnitude 6.7 in late November.

This comet begins the month in Cancer at magnitude 6.7. Look for a 11' coma. It should fade by about 0.8 magnitudes, moving into Lynx by month's end.