Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner makes its second-best appearance

By | Published: September 4, 2018 | Last updated on May 18, 2023
CometGC
Comet Giacobini-Zinner is a relatively small comet just over a mile (2 km) in diameter. Astronomers captured this image of the comet using the Kitt Peak 0.9-m telescope located in Arizona on October 31, 1998.
N. Sharp/NOAO/AURA/NSF

Observers using binoculars or a telescope should set their sights on Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. This solar system traveler is making its second-best appearance since its discovery in 1900. 

Comet Giacobini-Zinner is a relatively small comet just over a mile (2 km) in diameter. 

The comet currently glows at 7th magnitude against the backdrop of Auriga the Charioteer, a region that rises in the evening and climbs high before dawn. Giacobini-Zinner lies within 2° of magnitude 0.1 Capella this morning. 

The comet was similarly close yesterday morning, and remains a good target this week.